CZAR  FERDINAND 
AND  HIS  PEOPLE 


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LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


CZAR  FERDINAND  AS  EMPEROR  OF  THE  ORIENT 


Frontispiece 


BULGARIAN  PEASANT  LADS  OF  BAZARDJIK,  ONE  OF  THE 
SCENES  OF  THE  ATROCITIES  OF  1876-7 

CZAR  FERDINAND  OF  BULGARIA    .... 

BULGARIAN  PEASANTS  DANCING  THE  HORO  DANCE 

CZAR  FERDINAND  IN  NATIONAL  COSTUME 

PEASANTS  IN  BULGARIA  IN  SUMMER 

A  PROSPEROUS  BULGARIAN  PEASANT  WOMAN  OF  TIRNOVO     130 

SOFIA :  A  VIEW  OF  THE  BOULEVARD  DONDOUKOFF  . 

BORIS,  CROWN  PRINCE  OF  BULGARIA 

GENERAL  SAVOFF  WITH  MAJOR-COLONEL  BURMOFF 

M.  STAMBOULOFF  ...... 

CHILDREN  OF  THE  BULGARIAN  CZAR 


THE     CZAR     AND     CZARITSA     OF     BULGARIA     ON     THEIR 
WEDDING  DAY         ...... 

TIRNOVO,  THE  ANCIENT  CAPITAL  OF  BULGARIA       . 

OLD  MARKET  STALL  IN  SOFIA        .... 

NEW  NATIONAL  THEATRE,  SOFIA 

PANORAMA  OF  VARNA,  CHIEF  SEAPORT  OF  BULGARIA 

THE  FAMOUS  MONASTERY  OF  ST.  JOHN  OF  RILO 

BULGARIAN  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  CHILDREN 


14 

50 

72 

100 


132 
186 
190 
216 


23+ 

238 
250 
250 
262 
264 
270 
296 


viii  CZAR  FERDINAND 


PAGB 


PRINCE    FERDINAND    AND    KUROPATKIN    DURING    MAN- 

CEUVRES  AT  THE  SHIPKA  PASS  .320 

MACEDONIAN  REBELS  DURING  THE  TURKISH  PERIOD  .       32* 

H.M.  THE  QUEEN  OF  BULGARIA  IN  THE  DRESS  OF  A  RED 

CROSS  SISTER 326 

KING  OF  BULGARIA  CONFERRING  WITH  GENERAL  IVANOFF 

ON  THE  FIELD  OF  LULU  BURGAS  -330 

BULGARIANS'  MAKESHIFT  TRANSPORT  WAGGONS     .  .       334 

ADRIANOPLE:    SHOWING  THE  MOSQUE  OF  SULTAN  SELIM 

(ON  THE  LEFT)  AND  THE  OLD  MOSQUE  ON  THE  RIGHT       336 


CZAR    FERDINAND 

AND    HIS    PEOPLE 

I 

THE  BULGARIANS  REDISCOVERED 

It  is  related  that  the  Russian  soldiers,  in  their  Turkish 
campaign  of  1828-9,  were  surprised  to  discover  be- 
tween the  Danube  and  the  Balkans  a  people  speaking 
a  language  nearly  identical  with  their  own :  a  Slavic 
race  in  fact.  And  the  educated  officers  were  as  sur- 
prised as  the  rank  and  file.  Even  the  cultured 
Greeks,  not  only  of  that  period,  but  of  the  centuries 
from  the  capture  of  Constantinople  until  the  insur- 
rections of  the  seventies — their  patriarchs  in  Con- 
stantinople, their  bishops,  whose  dioceses  were 
distributed  over  the  vast  territory  enclosed  between 
the  Danube  and  the  three  seas — denied  the  existence 
of  anything  worth  calling  a  Bulgarian  people.  There 
once  had  been,  they  would  admit,  a  savage  horde, 
of  Central  Asiatic  origin,  named  Bulgars,  who  in  the 
Dark  and  Middle  Ages  harried  the  Roman  Empire 
of  the  East,  but  of  whom  only  a  few  remnants, 
in  secluded  places,  had  survived  the  process  of 
ethnic  absorption  ;  and  the  noisy  people,  who  in 
mid-nineteenth  century  originated  what  they  called 
a  Bulgarian  agitation,  were  not  Bulgarians  at  all,  but 
low-class,  renegade  Greeks.    So  the  Hellenes,  the 


2  CZAR  FERDINAND 

intellectual  elite  of  the  East,  used  to  say  when,  soon 
after  the  Crimean  War,  certain  natives  of  the  country 
now  known  as  Bulgaria  began  to  petition  Sultan 
Abdul  Medjid  to  grant  them  a  religious  chief  of  their 
own,  in  place  of  the  Greek  Patriarch,  who  for  cen- 
turies had  been  their  official  medium  of  communica- 
tion with  the  Ottoman  Government.  The  Ottoman 
theocracy  knew  nothing  of  races,  only  of  religions  : 
Bulgars,  Serbs,  Macedonian  Slavs  were  lumped  up 
together,  in  the  Christian  *  herd  ' — the  ray  ah. 

Some  thirty  years  after  the  Russian  discovery,  an 
English  statesman,  notable  in  his  day,  Mr.  Shaw 
Lefevre,  passed  through  Bulgaria  on  his  way  to  Con- 
stantinople. Of  course,  there  was  at  that  time  no 
Bulgaria,  in  the  official  sense  at  least ;  only  a  group 
of  provinces — ^Widin,  Rustchuk,  Sofia,  Philippopolis, 
etc. — ^under  Turkish  pashas.  And  Mr.  Shaw  Lefevre 
was  struck  with  the  natural  richness  of  the  country — 
and  with  its  desolation.  It  was  as  if  its  inhabitants, 
scared  by  the  Turkish  invader  to  seek  refuge  in  their 
mountain  fastnesses,  had  remained  there.  Not  that 
Mr.  Lefevre  knew  anything  about  a  vanished  nation. 
He  was  exactly  in  the  position  of  the  Russian  officers 
and  soldiers  of  1829.  This  is  what  he  wrote,  many 
years  later,  of  this  first  visit  of  his  to  the  lost  people 
who  have  since  become  a  powerful  nation,  with  a 
Czar  Ferdinand  for  ruler  : — 

'  Like  almost  all  other  Englishmen  of  the  time,  I  was  pro- 
foundly ignorant  of  the  very  existence  of  a  people  of  Bulgarian 
race.     It  is  curious,  indeed,  in  looking  back,  to  have  to  make 


THE  BULGARIANS  REDISCOVERED       3 

the  admission  that  I  was  under  the  impression,  even  when 
travelling  through  the  country,  that  the  population  consisted 
of  Turks  and  Greeks.  It  was,  indeed,  a  common  assumption 
that  the  Christian  population  of  the  district  were  Greeks  in 
race,  as  they  were  in  religion.  It  was  not  till  I  reached 
Constantinople,  and  made  acquaintance  with  the  late  Lord 
Strangford,  then  attached  to  the  British  Embassy,  who  alone 
of  these  existing  Englishmen  knew  anything  of  the  Balkan 
Peninsula  and  its  people,  that  I  learnt  the  existence  of  a 
Bulgarian  people  with  a  past  history  and  a  possible  future.'  ^ 

Mr.  Lefevre's  first  visit  must  have  taken  place  in 
i860,  or  1 86 1 — the  year  of  Prince  Ferdinand's  birth. 
Another  thirty  years  pass,  and  in  1890  Mr.  Lefevre 
visits  the  country  a  second  time.  He  is  overcome 
with  astonishment.  He  is  among  a  parliamentary 
people,  governed  constitutionally,  democratic  to  the 
core,  quick  at  learning  all  that  Europe  can  profitably 
teach  them,  advancing — to  quote  Mr.  Lefevre 's  great 
master  in  politics — *  by  leaps  and  bounds.'  He  makes 
inquiries  about  the  new  ruler  of  Bulgaria,  Prince 
Ferdinand — who  at  that  time  had  been  three  years 
on  the  throne — and  he  comes  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  Prince  is  '  able  and  conscientious.'  The  English 
politician,  knowing  what  severe  ordeals  the  new  state 
has  just  survived,  thinks  it  possible  that  *  a  coup 
may  happen  at  any  time.'  But  still  his  impression  is 
that  young  Prince  Ferdinand  is  *  firmly  established,' 
and  that  Bulgaria  *  will  hold  its  own.'  And  then 
Mr.  Lefevre  makes  some  observations  that,  in  view 
of  Ferdinand's  foreign  policy — as  prince  and  as  king — 

^   Contemporary  Review,  April  1 89 1 . 


4  CZAR  FERDINAND 

and  of  the  great  events  of  191 2-1 3,  are  especially 
interesting.  *  Friendship  with  the  Porte/  *  pacific 
negotiation  '  with  his  neighbours,  always  has  been 
Czar  Ferdinand's  purpose.  From  the  day  of  his 
accession  to  this  hour  Czar  Ferdinand  has  been  a  con- 
ciliator. Mr.  Lefevre  has  the  Macedonian  problem 
in  mind.  He  is  apprehensive  of  the  effect  of  rivalry 
between  Greece,  Bulgaria,  and  Servia.  History  will 
show  the  decisive  part  played  by  the  Conciliator  in 
creating  the  Balkan  Alliance — ^whose  aim,  after  all  is 
said  and  done,  is  peace. 

In  European  history  there  is  no  more  extraordin- 
ary phenomenon  than  the  renascence  and  rapid  pro- 
gress of  this  Bulgarian  race,  once  thought  to  be 
extinct.  We  shall  see,  later,  how  the  Greeks  strove 
to  *  Hellenise  '  the  Bulgarian  race,  just  as  the  Turkish 
revolutionists  of  1908-12  have  striven  to  *  denation- 
alise,* *  Ottomanise '  their  non-Moslem  populations. 
The  Greeks,  to  some  extent,  succeeded.  In  the  life- 
time of  men  still  living,  Bulgarians  of  the  higher 
ranks — if,  indeed,  there  was  much  room  for  any  such 
distinction  in  a  society  trampled  by  the  Turks  into  an 
impoverished,  servile  dead  level — ^were  ashamed  to  be 
heard  speaking  their  ancestral  tongue.  They  spoke 
the  language  of  their  Greek  clergy  and  Greek  school- 
masters. They  hoped  to  pass  for  Greeks — even  of 
mixed  descent,  should  some  facial  reminiscence  of 
Tartar  origins  belie  any  pretence  to  a  more  flattering 
heredity.  Only  the  laborious  peasants,  in  their  mel- 
ancholy hamlets,  undiscovered  of  Europe,  habitually 


THE  BULGARIANS  REDISCOVERED       5 

spoke  the  old  Slavonic  tongue.  Only  the  peasantry, 
and  insurgents  in  the  zelena  gora  (the  greenwood) 
of  the  folk-poets ;  and  the  solitary  monk  in  his  cell, 
brooding  over  the  mutilated  records  of  the  past, 
which  the  Greek  inquisitors  had  overlooked :  dream- 
ing of  the  resurrection  of  his  race. 

In  the  childhood  of  the  Czar's  subjects  now  in 
their  eighties,  not  one  indigenous  school  did  there 
exist  in  all  Bulgaria.  Queen  Victoria  had  been  eight 
years  on  the  throne  before  the  birth  of  the  first  timid 
little  sheet  calling  itself  a  Bulgarian  newspaper. 
When  Ghazi  Osman  and  his  heroic  starvelings  were 
making  their  last  stand  in  the  snows  of  Plevna,  seven 
or  eight  small  hand-presses  was  about  all  that  the 
country  between  the  Danube  and  the  chain  of  the 
Rhodope  could  show  in  the  way  of  printing  machinery. 
One  of  these  rude  ancestors  of  the  modern  Bulgarian 
press  is  preserved  as  a  priceless  treasure  in  Sofia 
Museum.  The  primitive  machine  is  a  memorial 
of  an  age  when  ray  ah  printers,  as  in  Montenegrin 
Cettinje — whose  invention  preceded  Caxton's — were 
sometimes  forced  to  convert  their  leaden  types  into 
bullets,  wherewith  to  beat  off  the  Turk's  bashi- 
bazouks. 

And  yet  there  was  a  time  when  this  *  extinct '  or 
submerged  Bulgarian  people  ruled  South-Eastern 
Europe.  There  were  Bulgarian  czars  centuries  before 
the  Muscovite  czars  were  heard  of.  They  made 
treaties,  now  on  a  footing  of  equality,  now  as  superiors 
by  right  of  conquest,  with  the  successors  of  the 


6  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Roman  Caesars,  the  lords  of  *  Golden  Byzantium.' 
They  formed  marriage  alliances  with  the  Greek 
emperors.  In  the  heyday  of  their  power,  seven 
hundred  years  ago,  when  our  King  John's  barons 
were  mustering  at  Runnymede,  the  Bulgarian  czars 
ruled  a  prosperous,  peaceful,  industrial,  and  com- 
mercial realm  larger  than  the  reconquered  Bulgaria 
of  Czar  Ferdinand  i.  And  the  Bulgar  czar's  court 
was  far  more  refined  and  elegant,  and  more  cultivated 
intellectually,  than  the  English  king's. 

One  is  sometimes  struck  by  the  modernity  of  much 
in  the  Bulgarian  politics  of  those  remote  epochs,  and 
by  curious  parallelisms  between  diplomatic  incidents 
then  and  now.  The  great  Czar  Simeon — a  sort  of 
rudimentary  Cobdenite  in  political  economy — wages 
war  on  the  Greek  emperor,  his  friend  and  old  college 
comrade  in  professorial  Byzantium,  about  a  protective 
tariff,  excluding  Bulgarian  merchandise  from  the 
markets  of  Greece.  Then,  as  now,  the  Bulgarian 
czars  fought  for  *  a  place  in  the  sun,'  by  the  shining 
sea,  and  they  got  it.  The  reader  will  remember  how 
an  insult,  needlessly  inflicted  by  the  Turkish  Foreign 
Minister  upon  the  Bulgarian  Diplomatic  Agent  at 
Constantinople,  provoked  Prince  Ferdinand  (and  his 
people  with  him)  to  cast  off  the  last  shreds  of  vassalage 
to  the  Sultan,  and  declare  Bulgaria  an  independent 
kingdom. 

An  insult  to  the  representative  of  one  of  the  medi- 
aeval czars  was  atoned  for  on  the  battlefield,  the  Bulgar 
king  rejecting  every  apology.    His  was  perhaps  the 


THE  BULGARIANS  REDISCOVERED      7 

worse  case  of  the  two.  For  whereas  his  accredited 
minister  was  reported  to  have  suffered  personal 
castigation,  Prince  Ferdinand's  Monsieur  Guechoff 
had  nothing  more  serious  to  complain  of  than  the 
refusal  of  an  invitation  to  a  diplomatic  dinner. 

It  is  curious,  too,  to  note  how  in  their  wars  with 
the  Greek  emperors,  Bulgarian  czars,  victoriously 
marching  on  a  Christian  Constantinople,  would  halt 
at  the  line — the  Chatalja  line — at  which  Czar  Ferdi- 
nand's army,  marching  upon  a  Mohammedan  Con- 
stantinople, has  paused  since  last  October.  Rodosto 
figures  in  the  military  history  of  the  time,  as  it  does  in 
the  hard  bargaining  between  the  Porte  and  the  Czar 
over  the  determination  of  the  new  boundary.  Nor 
was  it  only  the  formidable  risk  of  an  assault  upon  the 
city  that  deterred  the  victorious  invaders — either  then 
or  now.  The  veneration  which  *  Golden  Byzantium  ' 
awoke  in  the  minds  of  the  warlike  nations  that  would 
fain  possess  it  was  a  protective  force  not  computable 
in  the  arithmetic  of  siege  machinery.  It  was  the 
same  kind  of  emotion  that  the  vision  of  Rome  stirred 
in  the  mind  of  the  Gothic  conquerors  of  the  Western 
Empire,  or  that  the  first  sight  of  Jerusalem  awoke  in 
the  mind  of  the  Crusaders  when,  kneeling  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  they  covered  their  faces  with  their 
shields,  as  if  they  deemed  themselves  unworthy  to 
enter  within  the  sacred  walls.  The  sort  of  sentiment- 
ality which  has  clung  round  the  name  of  the  Second 
Rome  lately  found  expression  in  a  newspaper  article 
by  a  novelist,  essayist,  and  critic  of  European  repute, 


8  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Mr.  Joseph  Conrad.  Constantinople,  he  suggested, 
was  too  illustrious,  held  a  place  too  unique  in  the 
imagination  of  mankind,  not  to  say  too  imperial  in 
the  path  of  intercourse  between  three  continents,  to 
become  the  inheritance  of  a  Bulgar  people  but  lately 
semi-barbaric,  or,  for  that  matter,  of  any  one  of  the 
Turk's  successors.  A  *  free  '  Constantinople,  for  the 
material  benefit  and  the  aesthetic  delight  of  the  civil- 
ised world,  is  Mr.  Conrad's  ideal. 

Yet  there  was  a  time  when  the  Bulgarian  czars 
might  have  become  masters  of  Constantinople.  But 
for  untimely  death.  Czars  Simeon  and  Samuel  might 
have  ruled  South-Eastern  Europe  from  the  Golden 
Horn.  Czar  John  Agen,  the  humanest,  most  en- 
lightened and  progressive  of  them  all — a  great  civil- 
ising force — came  nearer  than  they  to  the  goal  of  so 
many  haunting  ambitions.  In  civilisation — such  as  it 
was  in  the  Europe  of  the  epoch — the  Bulgaria  of  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  was  the  equal  of  any 
Western  state.  It  is  questionable  if  the  history  of  the 
human  race  suggests  any  thought  more  desolating 
than  this,  that  but  for  the  irruption  of  the  Turks  into 
Europe  five  and  a  half  centuries  ago,  the  South  Slavic 
peoples  might  have  kept  pace  with  their  Western 
neighbours  in  physical,  moral,  and  intellectual  pro- 
gress.^ In  spite  of  the  uselessness  of  any  such  exer- 
cise of  the  imagination,  one  is  tempted  to  speculate  on 
what  might  have  been,  and  what  to-day  there  might 
be,  had  the  great  mediaeval  czars  seized  their  oppor- 

^  Bousquet,  Histo'ire  du  Peuple  Bulgare,  1909. 


THE  BULGARIANS  REDISCOVERED      9 

tunity  to  erect  on  the  Bosphonis  a  Slavic  barrier 
against  the  Turkish  invasion.  Yet  the  last  of  the 
great  czars  had  been  little  more  than  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  in  his  grave  when  his  successors'  empire, 
with  all  its  latent  capacities  for  betterment,  hurriedly 
vanished — not  a  trace  thereof  discoverable  for  the 
next  five  centuries. 

Some  writers  have  compared  its  destiny  to  the 
disappearance  of  a  stream  beneath  the  sands  of  the 
desert,  and  to  its  upspringing  in  a  distant  land,  there 
to  renew  its  fertilising  potency.  Others  have  had 
recourse  to  the  similitude  of  the  Egyptian  *  mummy 
wheat,'  that,  having  been  restored  to  earth  after  an 
imprisonment  in  the  palm  perhaps  of  a  Pharaoh  dead 
six  thousand  years,  grew,  and  gave  birth  to  fields  of 
waving  corn.  Not  an  inapt  figure  of  speech  for  a 
rustic  community,  which  no  one  in  mid-nineteenth 
century  thought  of  calling  a  nation,  but  which,  as 
prime  mover  in  a  formidable  and  novel  combination, 
suddenly  sprang,  fully  armed,  as  it  were  from  its 
Mother  Earth,  and  with  a  celerity,  an  ilan^  and  a 
disciplined  precision  that  amazed  Europe,  wrecked 
European  Turkey,  and  '  shifted  the  axis  '  of  interna- 
tional polity — so  that  the  long-predicted  combat 
between  the  Slav  and  the  Teuton  is  once  more 
agitating  men's  minds,  and  Germans,  Austrians, 
Russians,  Frenchmen  are  enlarging  their  armies,  and 
Lord  Roberts'  followers  are  crying,  more  shrilly  than 
ever,  for  universal  conscription. 

To  what  innate  character  in  the  race  itself,  in  the 


10  CZAR  FERDINAND 

kindred  peoples  with  which  it  was  in  alliance  or  in 
conflict,  in  the  Power  that  so  long  held  them  all  in 
subjection,  can  we  ascribe  the  rise  and  the  grandeur 
of  mediaeval  Bulgaria,  its  long  eclipse,  its  sudden, 
amazing  resurrection  as  a  military  state  of  the  first 
order  ? 


II 

THE  VITAL  FORCE  OF  A  RACE 

It  is  one  of  Czar  Ferdinand's  claims  to  distinction 
among  rulers  of  men  that  he  perceived  from  the  first 
the  latent  force  of  character  in  the  Bulgarian  race — its 
immense  '  vitality/  as  he  called  it  in  his  first  pro- 
clamation to  his  people.  His  r61e  as  a  statesman  may 
be  compared  with  the  rdle  of  a  Socratic  trainer  of 
youth — to  *  educate,'  draw  forth  powers  already  exist- 
ing, not  merely  to  impose,  *  knowledge '  in  the  one 
case  or  systems  in  the  other.  To  appreciate  Czar 
Ferdinand's  career,  a  comprehension  of  the  character 
of  the  Bulgarian  race  is  essential.  King  and  people 
are  inseparable. 

A  review  of  the  historical  facts,  which  in  an  outline 
such  as  this  is  must  be  very  cursory,  shows  that  some 
of  the  chief  characteristics  which  determined  the 
ebb  and  flow  of  dominance  among  the  south-eastern 
races  survive  unimpaired  from  the  days  of  Asparouch, 
the  first  Bulgar  king  who  in  the  full  sense  may  claim 
the  title,  to  the  days  of  his  latest  successor,  Ferdinand 
*  Macedonicus  ' — a  period  of  more  than  twelve  hun- 
dred years.  The  prowess  of  Asparouch 's  Bulgars 
was  as  indisputable  as  that  of  Czar  Ferdinand's.  And 
though  only  a  century  or  so  had  elapsed  since  his 
people,  migrating  from  the  Volga  and  the  shores  of 

the  Sea  of  Azoff,  had  crossed  the  Danube,  they  had 

11 


12  CZAR  FERDINAND 

already  conquered  the  entire  region  between  the 
river  and  the  Rhodope.  Asparouch  approached  as 
closely  to  the  Constantinople  of  Constantine  iv.  as 
Czar  Ferdinand  to  the  Constantinople  of  Mehmet  v. 
But  the  Bulgars  of  the  early  age  formed  but  an 
element — though  a  forceful  element — in  the  composi- 
tion of  the  race  over  which  Czar  Ferdinand  rules. 
The  Slavs,  preceding  them  as  invaders  of  the  Balkan 
region  by  more  than  a  century,  had  already  occupied 
and  permanently  settled  the  whole  of  it,  including 
modern  Servia  and  a  large  portion  of  Thrace.  The 
Bulgars  conquered  the  Slavs  as  these  had  conquered 
the  indigenous  Thracians,  driving  them  into  the 
mountains.  But  the  Bulgar  conquest  had  a  different 
result.  The  victors  and  the  vanquished  intermarried, 
produced  a  new  race  as  valorous  as  either  of  its 
original  components ;  but,  if  their  Greek  critics  are  to 
be  believed,  not  less  savage  in  manners  or  cruel  to 
their  foes.  According  to  these  authorities,  the  Slavs, 
when  they  did  not  sell  their  captives  into  slavery, 
impaled  them  or  flayed  them  alive,  making  no  dis- 
tinction of  rank,  age,  or  sex  ;  or  they  suspended  them 
between  four  posts  and  clubbed  them  to  death,  or 
locked  them  in,  in  crowds,  and  burnt  them.  The 
Turk  himself,  who  came  later  on  the  scene,  could  not 
outmatch  these  atrocities,  some  of  which  are  identical 
with  the  Turk's  habitual  method  of  suppressing  in- 
surrections. Yet  we  must  not  place  implicit  faith  in 
these  frightful  pictures  of  Slav  and  Bulgar  ferocity. 
Until  the  later  years  of  Czar  Ferdinand's  reign,  the 


THE  VITAL  FORCE  OF  A  RACE        13 

hatred  of  the  Greek  for  the  Bulgar  was  as  intense  as 
the  Bulgar's  for  the  Turk,  and  the  '  barbarous 
Bulgar  '  was  the  butt  of  every  loquacious  joker  in  the 
Athenian  coffee-houses.  Even  in  the  early  period 
there  were  Greeks  whose  testimony  was  much  less 
unflattering  than  the  foregoing.  They  speak  of  the 
hospitality,  frank  manners,  and  bravery  of  the  new 
race  of  conquerors.  The  Slavs  are  described  as  of 
tall  stature  and  fresh  complexion.  Their  ideas  of 
political  life  were  democratic.  The  Bulgars,  on  the 
other  hand,  favoured  an  aristocratic  organisation — in 
other  words,  one-man  rule,  a  logical  system,  in  an  age 
of  incessant  warfare,  when  it  was  essential  that  the 
ablest  man  should  lead  the  mass. 

Let  us  linger  for  a  brief  space  over  these  ethnic 
characteristics,  physical  and  moral ;  for  we  shall  see 
how  they  asserted  themselves  in  the  evolution  of  the 
race.  King  Peter's  Servians  are,  generally  speaking, 
taller  and  fairer  than  their  first  cousins.  Czar  Ferdi- 
nand's Bulgars.  They  are  also,  generally  speaking, 
more  accessible,  less  reticent,  more  hail-fellow-well- 
met,  more  impressionable,  more  subtle  and  sensitive 
intellectually.  Take  a  typical  Servian  Slav  and  a 
Bulgar  of  the  less  frequented  interior  (where  the 
existing  type  most  closely  approaches  the  ancient  one, 
before  the  amalgamation  of  the  two  races),  and  the 
physical  distinction  will  strike  the  most  careless  ob- 
server. The  personal  appearance  of  a  Bulgar  peasant 
of  this  pattern  will  at  once  recall  the  early  portraiture 
of  the  ancestral  Bulgar,  as  a  shortish,  muscular,  dark- 


14  CZAR  FERDINAND 

haired,  somewhat  swarthy,  high  cheek-boned  inter- 
loper from  Tartar-land.  We  are  speaking,  be  it 
remembered,  of  an  extreme,  disappearing  type  in  the 
most  Bulgarian  part  of  Bulgaria,  the  part  between  the 
Danube  and  the  Great  Balkan,  the  '  Father  Balkan  ' 
of  the  Bulgarian  patriot-outlaws.  It  will  remind  us  of 
the  ancestral  Bulgar*s  family  relationship  to  the  Turk 
— ^who  is  a  *  Turanian,'  ethnically  distinct  from  the 
*  Aryan  '  species  of  mankind,  of  which  the  Slavs  are 
a  variety.  It  will  remind  us  that  the  first  Bulgar 
filibusters  who  harried  the  Empire  in  Justinian's  day, 
and  fought  Belisarius — last  of  the  great  Roman 
generals — followed  the  horse-tail  standard,  just  as  in 
after  time  the  Turkish  invaders  did,  when  they  landed 
in  that  same  peninsula  of  Gallipoli  which  Ferdinand's 
men  are  striving  to  wrench  from  the  Caliph's  grip.^ 

Bulgaria  and  Servia  are  both  Slavic — with  the  dif- 
ference that  the  former  contains  a  considerable  Bulgar 
ingredient,  from  which  it  derives  its  geographical 
and  political  name.  It  is  exceedingly  interesting  to 
note  how,  even  within  the  czardom  itself,  the  char- 
acters of  regional  populations  seem  to  vary  accord- 
ing to  the  strength  of  this  eponymous  ingredient. 
The  most  remarkable  example  of  this  distinction  is 
none  other  than  Stephan  Stambouloff  himself,  the 
greatest  Bulgarian  of  modern  times,  the  chief  artificer 
of  the  Bulgarian  state  before  Prince  Ferdinand's 
advent,  the  ruthless  autocrat-minister  who  so  often 
bullied  and   defied   His  Royal  Highness — and  was 

^  The  Turks  seized  Gallipoli  in  1356. 


BULGARIAX    PEASANT   I.ADS   OF   BA/ARDJIK,    ONE    OF   THE 
SCENES    OF    THE    ATROCITIES    OF    1876-7 


THE  VITAL  FORCE  OF  A  RACE        15 

accused,  by  his  enemies,  of  aiming  at  permanent 
dictatorship.  This  political  genius — as  even  foes 
describe  him — was  of  the  thick-set,  Tartar-ish  pattern 
already  mentioned.  He  hailed  from  picturesque, 
romantic  Tirnovo,  the  old  Bulgar  capital,  on  the 
slope  of  the  Great  Balkan,  in  the  more  primitive 
region  of  Bulgaria.  The  kind  of  man,  in  mind  and 
body,  whom  one  might  imagine  shouting  his  orders  in 
guttural  Jaghatai  Turki  (or  whatever  it  was),  gallop- 
ing, with  his  horse-tail  standard  and  band  of  free- 
booters, over  the  plain  of  Adrianople,  in  Asparouch's 
rush  upon  Golden  Byzantium.  The  *  tapster,'  supe- 
rior persons  in  another  Bulgarian  city,  *  Hellenised  ' 
Philippopolis,  sometimes  called  him,  in  allusion  to 
his  father's  trade.  He  was  a  peasant,  raised  to  the 
epoch-making  position  for  which  Mother  Nature  had 
equipped  him.  He  had,  in  abundance,  the  staying 
power,  the  obstinate  tenacity,  the  still,  dour,  un- 
swerving resolution  which  Czar  Ferdinand's  soldiers 
(nine-tenths  of  them  peasants)  have  displayed  on  the 
fields  of  Thrace.  He  was  a  true  son  of  the  local  com- 
munity in  which  the  ancestral  Bulgarian  element  is 
relatively  powerful.  The  regional  variety  of  Bulgars 
from  whom  he  came  are  less  swiftly  responsive  to  the 
artistic  appeal  in  life  and  things,  to  the  ideal  appeal  in 
polity,  than  their  fellow-compatriots  in  the  beautiful 
province  that  used  to  be  called  Eastern  Roumelia,  and 
in  which  the  primitive  Bulgar  element  is  comparatively 
weak  and  the  Greek  element  comparatively  strong. 
The  difference  in  temperament  revealed  itself  in  the 


1 6  CZAR  FERDINAND 

irrepressible  agitation  (1883-4-5)  of  Eastern  Roumelia 
(then  an  autonomous  government  under  a  Turkish 
official  supervised  by  the  European  Powers)  for  union 
with  the  Principality.  At  first  the  Bulgarians  of  the 
Principality  seemed  inclined  to  hold  aloof,  to  rest  in 
peace  with  what  they  had  already  won,  and  con- 
solidate that,  to  wait  patiently  for  the  destined 
opportunity — in  short,  to  give  their  deaf  ear  to  the 
eloquence  of  Philippopolis.  As  the  Scots,  who  in 
some  ways  resemble  them,  would  say,  they  were 
cautious  *  bodies/  But  when  the  thing  had  to  be 
done,  and  the  East  Roumelia  Bulgarians  had  burnt 
their  boats,  their  brothers  of  the  west  and  north 
welcomed  them  with  open  arms  and  loud  acclamation, 
and  vowed,  by  all  their  gods,  to  uphold  a  flagrant 
breach  of  the  sacred  Treaty  of  Berlin,  in  spite  of  all 
the  *  Status  quo '  chancelleries  of  Europe.  The  chan- 
celleries knew  they  would.  One  has  only  to  read 
Lord  Salisbury's  Blue-Book  reasonings  with  the  Turk 
— they  are  pure  common  sense — to  detect,  between 
the  lines,  his  sympathy  with  the  repudiators  of  a 
treaty  of  which  he  himself  had  been  a  collaborating 
author,  and  his  humorous  appreciation  of  the  help- 
less perplexity  into  which  the  '  accomplished  fact ' 
had  left  the  Sublime  Porte  and  the  Foreign  Offices. 

The  incorporation  of  Eastern  Roumelia  with  the 
Principality  has  had,  and  will  have,  a  social  influence 
of  great  value,  independently  of  its  strictly  political 
effect — an  influence  which  will  speedily  be  reinforced 
by  the  absorption  of  Macedonia.    The  writer  would 


THE  VITAL  FORCE  OF  A  RACE         17 

corroborate  his  own  impressions — ^gathered  from 
intercourse  with  the  populations  in  question — by  the 
opinion  of  M.  Bousquet,  who  knows  the  South-East 
as  few  Europeans  do.^  The  arrival  of  the  East 
Roumelia  deputies  at  the  National  Parliament  in  Sofia 
meant  the  importation  into  the  relatively  rude  north 
of  an  educated  personnel^  with  considerable  claim 
(rather  exaggerated,  one  suspects,  by  the  good  citizens 
of  Philippopolis)  to  a  degree  of  social  finish  not  else- 
where discernible  south  of  the  Danube .  Our  northern 
brothers,  said  they,  have  grit  in  them,  any  amount  of 
it,  but  they  lack  polish  :  even  the  Sofians  do ;  they 
must  cultivate  the  metropolitan  tone ;  we  shall  show 
them  how  to.  They  did  it.  As  M.  Bousquet  has 
remarked,  the  Eastern  Roumeliots  have  had  readier 
means  of  intercourse  with  the  world  than  was  possible 
for  the  people  of  the  Danube-Great  Balkan  region. 
They  had  the  immense  advantage  of  some  direct 
*  contact  with  Hellenism.*  Their  delightful  climate 
had  contributed  its  share  to  the  formation  of  a 
temperament  more  sunshiny  than  that  of  the  stern 
northerners.  Philippopolis,  says  the  same  author, 
always  was  a  capital  town — though  an  unofficial  one. 
For  one  thing,  in  the  beauty  of  its  site,  it  is  im- 
measurably superior  to  Sofia.  Besides  being  more 
well  off  than  that  of  the  established  capital,  its  society 
was  more  '  elegant,'  more  intellectually  curious  than 
any  town  population  in  Bulgaria.  It  could  boast  '  a 
sort  of  Atticism.' 

1  Histoire  du  Peuple  Bulgare,  1909. 
B 


1 8  CZAR  FERDINAND 

The  same  general  observation  applies  to  Mace- 
donia, whose  Bulgarian  inhabitants,  constituting  the 
largest  part  of  the  population,  show  shades  of  differ- 
ence from  their  northern  kinsfolk  in  physique,  in 
temperament,  in  taste  :  a  diiference  arising,  in  the  first 
place  (apart  from  the  effect  of  an  enchanting  climate), 
from  the  fact  that  the  original  Bulgarian  element 
among  the  Slavs  of  the  province  was  numerically 
weaker  than  in  the  lands  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Rhodope  ;  and  in  the  second  place,  from  contiguity 
with  Greece  and  intermarriage  with  its  people. 


Ill 

CZAR  FERDINAND'S  AMBITION 

Their  land-locked  position  subjected  the  Northern 
Bulgarians  to  a  serious  disadvantage.  Unlike  Greece 
and  Servia,  they  were  shut  out  from  the  civilised 
world.  Belgrade  of  the  Servians  had,  so  to  speak, 
its  front  door  and  windows  looking  out  upon  Europe 
— so  that  Goethe  was  reading,  in  a  delighted  surprise 
(and  with  him  the  Wolfian  theorists  of  Homeric 
origins),  the  folk-lays  and  legends  of  the  Serbs,  long 
before  Western  scholars  learnt  that  poetical  treasures, 
as  rich  and  as  copious  (in  process  of  transmission 
from  the  popular  memory  to  the  printed  page),  existed 
among  the  Bulgarians.  Unlike  Belgrade,  the  old 
Bulgarian  capital,  Tirnovo,  had  its  front  door  and 
windows  facing — Scythia  (if  the  Roumans  and  Rus- 
sians will  pardon  the  word).  Sofia  has  its  two  fronts, 
one  looking  towards  Europe,  the  other  towards  the 
long-dreamt-of  bourne  of  the  Bulgarian  race,  the  blue 
i^gean,  on  whose  sun-steeped  shore  Czar  Ferdinand's 
soldiers,  for  the  first  time,  stand  at  gaze.  On  the 
vague,  irrepressible  longing  of  the  Bulgarian  people 
for  a  wider  horizon  and  an  ampler  light,  the  French 
Orientalist  already  named  expresses  himself  in  the 
simile  of  a  plant  that,  rooted  in  its  river  bed,  strives 
upwards,  that  its  leaves  may  expand,  and  its  flower 
blow,  afloat  on  the  surface,  in  the  air  and  sunshine. 

19 


20  CZAR  FERDINAND 

What  we  are  now  witnessing  in  Greater  Bulgaria 
is  the  evolution  of  a  new  people  combining  the  quali- 
ties of  its  component  parts — a  fusion  of  types,  with  the 
promise  of  greater  good  to  mankind  than  it  was  pos- 
sible for  the  Slavo-Bulgar  fusion  of  the  Middle  Ages 
to  bestow.  The  creation  of  such  a  nation,  on  an 
industrial,  intellectual,  progressive  level  with  the 
advanced  nations  of  Central  and  Western  Europe,  is 
Czar  Ferdinand's  ambition.  The  extent  and  nature 
of  its  possible  influence  among  the  Great  Powers  may 
be  divined  from  the  plausible  prediction  that  in  fifty 
years  its  population  of  about  four  and  a  half  millions 
will  be  quintupled,  and  that  in  the  same  period  the 
population  of  the  Alliance  of  which  Bulgaria  is  the 
head  will  rise  to  forty  millions.  Fusion  of  political 
interests  between  the  individual  states  will  be  as 
indispensable  as  was  the  reconciliation  of  rival  parties 
and  classes  within  each  of  them  during  the  long 
combat  with  the  Byzantine  Empire,  and  next  with  the 
Turks.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the  Slavs'  im- 
patience of  centralised  government,  to  their  *  demo- 
cratic '  individualism,  as  some  historians  have  named 
it,  during  that  epoch.  It  was  their  centrifugal 
tendency.  The  early  Bulgars,  according  to  the  same 
authorities,  adapted  themselves  to  a  centralised  rule, 
the  control  of  their  ablest  man.  It  was  their  centri- 
petal tendency — ^weakened,  however,  as  their  absorp- 
tion into  the  Slavic  mass  progressed.  Irretrievable 
ruin,  as  penalty  for  sectional  rivalries,  egoistic  dis- 
union, in  the  presence  of  mortal  danger,  is  the  tre- 


CZAR  FERDINAND'S  AMBITION        21 

mendous  lesson  of  Slavo-Bulgar  history  in  the  Middle 
Ages.    Of  that  lesson  no  one  has  a  keener  apprecia- 
tion than  the  observant,  reflective  man  of  action  and 
resourceful  diplomatist  that  the  world  recognises  in 
Czar  Ferdinand.    He  has  been  born  in  due  time  to 
fulfil  a  distinguished  part  in  the  transformation  of  the 
European  East.    His  success  in  reconciling  the  tur- 
bulent factions  whose  rivalries  nearly  shattered  the 
nascent  Principality  at  more  than  one  crisis  during 
his  predecessor's  reign,  and  harassed  the  first  years  of 
his  own,  justify  the  hope  that  his  talent  for  conciliation 
may  be  exercised  with  the  like  result  on  a  larger  scale. 
The  party  wars  that  rent  the  Principality  at  a  time 
when  it  was  literally  struggling  to  exist  were  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  intestine  discord  that  made  mediaeval 
Bulgaria  the  Turks'  easy  prey.    The  modern  party 
leaders  were  akin  to  the  mediaeval  boyards,  semi- 
independent  territorial  magnates  who  fought  each 
other,  or  held  aloof,  when  the  foe  was  at  the  gates. 
The  main  diflPerence  was  that  in  the  one  case  the 
combatants  had  the  floor  of  an  assembly  house  for 
battlefield ;  in  the  other,  the  Balkan  Peninsula  from 
the  Danube  to  the  three  seas.    We  have  now  to  show 
in  rapid  outline  how  it  fared  with  the  Slavo-Bulgars 
during  the  epoch  of  the  boyards  and  of  the  despots 
who  succeeded,  or  failed,  in  controlling  them. 

Counting  from  about  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
century  and  the  reign  of  the  Bulgar  king,  Asparouch, 
already  mentioned,  to  the  death,  in  907,  of  the  great 
Czar  Boris  the  First,  after  whom  Czar  Ferdinand's 


22  CZAR  FERDINAND 

heir  is  named,  the  Bulgars  in  two  and  a  half  centuries 
had  shorn  of  some  of  its  largest  and  fairest  possessions 
an  Empire  that  stretched  from  the  Danube  to  the 
Euphrates.  At  the  first-named  date  the  pagan  Bul- 
garian leader  was  exacting  tribute  from  the  Christian 
emperor,  the  successor  of  the  Caesars,  whose  capital 
he  was  investing.  In  the  two  and  a  half  centuries 
the  fusion  of  the  Bulgars  with  the  Slavs,  who  had  pre- 
ceded them  in  the  occupation  of  the  country,  and  who, 
like  them,  were  pagans,  was  effected.  In  fact,  it  is  not 
quite  clear  that  the  Slavs  were  disinclined  to  treat  the 
new  invaders  as  allies  rather  than  as  enemies.  For  the 
Eastern  Empire,  though  decaying,  was  still  capable  of 
spasmodic  bursts  of  heroic  energy.  Moreover,  the  new 
invaders,  just  because  conquest  was  the  business  they 
had  in  hand,  were  more  compactly  organised  and 
more  ready  for  leadership  than  were  the  Slavs,  already 
permanently  settled  in  the  larger  portion  of  the 
peninsula.  Even  the  Greek  emperors  recognised  the 
import  of  the  Slavic  settlement  when  they  conceded 
to  that  portion  of  their  former  possessions  the  name 
of  Slavonia.  Though  far  inferior  in  numbers  to  the 
Slavs,  the  invaders  were  more  warlike  and  virile. 
What  the  Bulgars  did  when  they  voluntarily,  or  rather 
unconsciously,  acquiesced  in  their  absorption  by  a 
race  more  numerous  and  more  civilised  than  their 
own  was  to  infuse  an  iron  tonic  into  the  Slavic  blood. 
It  was  an  interesting  process  :  the  Bulgars  abandoned 
their  own  language  for  the  language  of  their  partners, 
and  gave  their  national  name  to  the  amalgamated 


CZAR  FERDINAND'S  AMBITION        23 

people.  So  that  Czar  Ferdinand's  Bulgarians  are 
fundamentally  Slavic — the  strength  of  the  iron  dose 
in  their  blood  varying,  as  stated  in  a  foregoing  para- 
graph, according  to  locality,  being  lower  in  recon- 
quered Macedonia,  higher  in  and  about  the  Great 
Balkan. 

Asparouch's  successor  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
Bulgarian  chief  who  bore  the  title  of  Czar.  It  was  be- 
stowed upon  him  by  Justinian  the  Second,  Emperor 
of  the  Romans.  It  was  the  symbol  of  the  barbarian's 
election  to  the  freemasonry  of  monarchs.  The 
bestowal  deserves  a  passing  notice.  Over  and  over 
again  in  the  history  of  the  Bulgarian  rulers — even  the 
most  powerful  among  them — ^we  may  see  how  flattered 
they  were  by  the  gift  of  titles  from  the  divine,  if 
decadent,  successors  of  the  Caesars  ;  how  their  sons 
and  relatives,  and  even  they  themselves,  were  proud 
of  admission  to  the  rank  of  Byzantine  patricians.  So 
the  Gothic  invaders  of  the  Western  Empire  rejoiced 
in  empty  titles  granted  them  by  the  phantom  senate 
of  the  immortal  city,  whose  fate  they  held  in  the 
hollow  of  their  hand. 

The  most  conspicuous  of  the  Bulgar  rulers  before 
the  reign  of  Boris  i.  was  Czar  Krum,  the  ferocious 
victor  over  the  Emperor  Nicephorus,  whose  head  he 
caused  to  be  carried  on  a  pike  in  front  of  his  armies, 
and  whose  skull  he  turned  into  a  drinking  cup,  to  be 
produced,  for  the  amusement — and  perhaps  the 
edification — of  his  guests,  on  gala  days.  That  festive 
use  of  a  foe's  skull  is  described  by  ancient  authors  as 


24  CZAR  FERDINAND 

a  Scythian  custom — though  Krum  does  not  appear 
to  have  stood  in  need  of  any  extraneous  aid  to  his 
inventiveness.  In  the  next  czar's  reign,  Omortag's, 
two  striking  symptoms  of  social  transformation  in  the 
Slavo-Bulgar  people,  still  in  process  of  *  becoming,' 
were  manifest.  One  of  them  was  the  growing  preva- 
lence of  Slavic  family  names  among  the  governing 
classes.  The  other,  of  far  greater  significance,  was 
the  spread  of  Christianity.  Christian  missionaries 
from  Constantinople  were  penetrating  the  south-east 
as  far  as  the  German  confines.  Christian  slaves  in 
Bulgarian  households,  or  employed  in  the  state 
service,  chiefly  prisoners  taken  in  the  constant  wars 
with  the  Greeks,  were  efficient  propagandists  of  the 
new  faith.  At  the  same  time,  education  began  to 
make  way  among  the  illiterate  and  still  half-formed 
race.  The  systematic  encouragement  of  literary  cul- 
ture, the  adoption  of  Christianity  as  the  state  religion, 
were  the  distinctive  achievements  of  the  first  of  the 
great  Bulgarian  czars,  Boris  the  First.  To  the  mis- 
sionary travellers  whom  Boris  entertained  at  his  court. 
Saints  Method  and  Cyril,  Czar  Ferdinand's  subjects 
owe  the  somewhat  uncouth  characters  of  their  alpha- 
bet. His  personal  motives  for  conversion  were  bar- 
baric— ^though  he  might  point  to  the  example  of  a 
potentate  more  illustrious  and  enlightened  than  him- 
self, Constantine  the  Great,  or  to  that  of  Clovis  the 
German.  He  made  choice  of  the  God  whom  the 
victorious  Charlemagnes  of  his  epoch,  and  his  ally, 
Louis  the  German,  worshipped.    It  being  a  business 


CZAR  FERDINAND'S  AMBITION        25 

choice,  Czar  Boris  the  convert  showed  no  mercy  to 
those  of  his  subjects  who  refused  to  abandon  their 
ancestral  heathenism.  For,  as  it  was  clear  that  the 
Christians'  God  rewarded  His  people  with  worldly 
prosperity,  it  was  the  duty  of  all  who  cared  for  the 
general  welfare  to  declare  themselves  converted.  So 
Czar  Boris,  it  is  recorded,  slew  large  numbers  of  his 
recalcitrant  boyards,  who,  from  their  position,  ought 
to  have  been  prompt  in  setting  a  wholesome  example. 
The  natural  result  followed — the  Bulgarian  heathen 
flocked  in  crowds  for  baptism.  In  spite  of  his  mur- 
ders, Boris  has  his  place  in  the  Orthodox  Calendar  of 
Saints.  In  his  pagan,  as  in  his  Christian,  days  Czar 
Boris  the  First  laid  the  foundations  of  a  state  which, 
at  the  time  of  his  death  in  a  monastery,  whither  he  had 
retired  in  the  year  888,  extended  from  the  Danube  to 
the  Thracian  plains,  to  and  beyond  Belgrade  as  far 
as  Moravia,  and  through  Western  Macedonia  to  the 
Greek  border.  The  motives  of  his  and  his  subjects' 
conversion  to  Christianity  were  unchristian :  but  its 
political  benefit  was  enormous.  It  imparted  a  new 
and  powerful  stimulus  to  the  unification,  the  fusion,  of 
Slavs  and  Bulgars.  It  was  the  first  definite,  serious, 
calculated  step  of  the  Bulgarian  state  towards  par- 
ticipation in  the  political  and  intellectual  movement  of 
the  West.  It  opened,  to  repeat  a  former  simile,  a 
window  upon  Europe.  Another  window  opened  on 
Byzantium,  the  seat  of  such  culture  as  did  exist  in  the 
Christian  world.  When  the  Emperor  Michael  ill. 
stood  as  godfather  to  the  converted  heathen  Boris  i., 


26  CZAR  FERDINAND 

he  was  assisting  at  something  more  respectable  and 
enduring  than  a  ceremonial  show.  With  Boris  the 
tide  of  Greek  civilisation  began  to  flow  into  the  rising 
Bulgarian  Empire.  With  what  results,  the  reigns 
of  his  successors,  Simeon  and  Samuel — two  of  the 
three  greatest  Bulgarian  czars — would  show.  Boris 
deserves  his  pedestal  in  the  Bulgarian  pantheon.  Czar 
Ferdinand  gave  proof  of  his  innate  tact  when  he  named 
his  son  and  heir-apparent  after  the  first  of  the  great 
czars .^  The  act  proclaimed  baby  Boris,  the  future 
Boris  III.,  and  great-grandson  of  Louis  Philippe,  and 
descendant  from  Henry  of  Navarre,  a  native  Bul- 
garian. It  raised  Czar  Ferdinand  immensely  in  the 
esteem  of  his  Bulgar  subjects,  who  are  sensitive  on 
the  theme  of  the  past  grandeur  of  their  race,  and  who 
also,  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  were  only  just  then 
getting  over  their  somewhat  uneasy  scepticism  regard- 
ing their  Coburg  prince. 

^  Prince   Boris  was   baptized  into  the  Bulgar  Orthodox  Church,   14th 
February  1896. 


r 


IV 

THE  FIRST  GREAT  EPOCH 

Through  an  incapable  czar,  Vladimir,  who  reigned 
but  four  years,  Boris  bequeathed  a  compact  state  to 
Czar  Simeon,  the  first  of  the  cultivated  rulers,  besides 
being  a  successful  warrior  and  a  statesman  of  great 
organising  capacity.  He  stands  out  in  Bulgarian 
history  as  a  man  of  humane  character — humane,  at 
least,  if  measured  by  the  standard  of  a  harsh  age. 
Educated  in  Constantinople — just  as,  in  the  Western 
Empire,  Gothic  youths  of  noble  parentage  were 
brought  up  in  Rome — Czar  Simeon  made  himself 
familiar  with  the  ancient  Greek  classics.  He  was  a 
student  of  the  science  of  his  time.  Succeeding  to  the 
czardom  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  (a  year  younger  than 
Prince  Ferdinand  at  the  time  of  his  accession),  he 
began  his  career  with  the  ambition  of  making  his  court 
and  capital  the  seat  of  an  indigenous  Slavonic  culture. 
At  that  time  Preslav — of  which  hardly  a  trace  has  sur- 
vived— was  the  Bulgarian  capital.  The  new  czar, 
whose  architectural  tastes  had  been  developed  in 
Byzantium,  beautified  it  with  stately  palaces  and 
temples.  It  became  the  admiration  of  travellers. 
For  the  first  time  the  court  of  the  Bulgarian  czars  won 
a  reputation  for  refinement.  Nor  did  this  patron  of 
letters  and  the  arts  neglect  the  material  exigencies  of 
his  mktier  as  a  ruling  prince.    His  severe  retaliation 

57 


28  CZAR  FERDINAND 

for  the  indignity  to  which  his  ambassador  at  the 
capital  of  the  Eastern  world  was  subjected,  announced 
to  all  and  several  that  a  Bulgar  diplomatist  must  be 
reckoned  as  the  equal  of  a  Roman  emperor's.  A  still 
more  striking  assertion  of  equality  was  the  marriage 
of  the  Czar's  son  with  Caesar's  daughter,  an  alliance 
which  in  after  time  gave  the  Czar  a  plausible  reason 
(at  a  dynastic  crisis  in  Constantinople)  to  lay  claim  to 
the  imperial  throne.    Simeon  adopted  the  title  of 

*  Czar  of  the  Bulgarians  and  the  Greeks.'  His  suc- 
cessors perpetuated  it  for  nearly  four  centuries — 
though,  in  fact,  there  were  intervals  when  the  title, 
even  without  the  word  Greeks,  conveyed  no  more 
meaning  than  the  legend  *  King  of  Great  Britain, 
"  France,"  and  Ireland  '  on  the  Georgian  coins.  In 
Czar  Simeon's  reign,  however,  the  title  was  justified. 
There  were  a  great  many  Greeks  in  a  Bulgaria  that 
included  Macedonia,  with  its  capital,  Salonika  ;  and 
even  Thessaly  ;  and  Epirus,  the  capital  of  which, 
Jannina,  has  just  been  captured  by  King  George's 
army  ;  and  a  great  part  of  Servia — in  a  word,  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  peninsula.  In  this  king's  reign  the 
Bulgarian  realm  reached  its  widest  limits. 

But  Czar  Simeon's  empire  was  less  solid  than  it 
seemed.  For  with  the  Byzantine  culture  there  had 
crept    in    the    Byzantine    poison.      The    imported 

*  Hellenism  '  was  merely  superficial.  In  religion  it 
meant  nothing  more  than  mechanical  ritual  and 
sterile  logomachy.  The  cultivated  and  aspiring  Czar 
Simeon  had  committed  the  mistake  of  foisting  upon 


THE  FIRST  GREAT  EPOCH  29 

his  subjects  a  form  of  civilisation  for  which  they  were 
as  yet  unprepared.  The  condition  into  which  the 
Bulgarian  czardom  fell  after  Simeon's  death,  and 
especially  during  the  long  reign  of  his  immediate 
successor,  the  amiable  but  weak  Czar  Peter,  strongly 
resembled  that  of  the  South  American  so-called 
republics  throughout  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
great  South  American  presidents  and  dictators,  im- 
ported from  Europe — as  did  the  czars  from  Byzantium 
— forms  of  intellectual  culture  which  the  mass  of  their 
compatriots  were  unfitted  to  receive.  And  the  rival 
boyards  of  the  Bulgar  Empire,  who  in  the  general 
debacle  defied  the  central  authority,  set  up  govern- 
ments of  their  own,  and  fought  each  other  for  suprem- 
acy, resemble  the  caudillos  of  Latin  America. 

The  boyards,  it  is  related,  resented  the  cultured 
courtiers'  airs  of  superiority,  despised  their  foreign 
aestheticism,  and  scorned  the  elaborate  pomp  and 
etiquette  of  the  royal  palace.  Here,  also,  there  is  a 
curious  resemblance  to  a  modern  instance.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  regal  formalities,  the  minute  protocol, 
of  Prince  Ferdinand's  palace  irritated  great  numbers 
of  his  subjects,  among  them  some  of  his  ministers, 
especially  the  autocrat-minister,  Stambouloff.  Stam- 
bouloff,  it  is  related,  was  at  no  pains  to  conceal  his 
scorn,  even  in  the  Prince's  presence,  for  trappings 
more  to  the  taste  of  the  gorgeous  idlers  who  thronged 
round  the  person  of  the  '  Grand  Monarque,'  than  to 
the  taste  of  Bulgaria's  plebeian  notables  and  rude, 
raw  rustics.    The  exigent  etiquette  of  the  palace  of 


30  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Sofia  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  Prince's  sometime 
unpopularity. 

But  the  boyards  did  something  worse  than  rebel 
against  Simeon's  and  Peter's  new-fangled  pomposities. 
In  the  first  place,  in  the  general  upsetting  of  manners 
and  morals,  they  appear  to  have  become  more  merci- 
lessly exacting  to  the  peasant  class,  long  reduced  to 
the  position  of  serfs,  though,  on  the  whole,  secure  of 
a  not  intolerable  life.  After  rather  more  than  two 
centuries  of  existence  under  able  kings,  with  a  united 
people  obedient  to  them,  the  Bulgar  state  edifice  began 
to  crack.  A  huge  fragment  of  it.  Western  Bulgaria, 
with  its  chief  town,  Sofia,  fell  away,  and  was  taken 
possession  of  by  a  warlike,  energetic,  and  extremely 
able  prince,  or  boyard,  Schishman,  first  of  a  name 
conspicuous  in  Bulgar  history.  It  is  to  be  noted  that 
the  race  fusion  in  Western  Bulgaria  was  less  advanced 
than  in  the  eastern  territories,  over  which  Czar  Peter 
kept  hold  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Schishman 's  share 
of  the  disrupted  czardom  comprised  Central  and 
Western  Macedonia  as  far  as  Ochrida,  a  large  part  of 
Albania,  as  well  as  Thessaly  and  Epirus.  The  frag- 
ment of  a  fortified  castle  at  Ochrida  is  a  solitary 
memorial  of  pre-Turkish  Bulgaria.  Like  other  up- 
start despots  before  and  after  him.  Czar  Schishman 
of  Western  Bulgaria  started  a  national  Church  of  his 
own,  with  a  patriarch  of  its  own.  As  pointed  out 
in  a  foregoing  page,  a  national  Church,  with  a  patri- 
arch at  its  head,  was,  in  the  Slavo-Bulgar-Greek 
epoch,  the  symbol  of  national  independence,  as  it 


THE  FIRST  GREAT  EPOCH  31 

was  in  the  Turkish  era  the  symbol  of  certain  Christian 
privileges. 

It  was  an  alleged,  and  prematurely  lugubrious, 
custom  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Thrace  to 
assemble  around  a  child  newly  born,  and  make  moan 
for  him  because  of  his  entrance  into  so  wretched  a 
universe.  More  terrible,  unforgettably  terrible,  was 
a  saying  of  the  Bulgarian  peasants,  that  God  was  not 
sinless,  inasmuch  as  He  created  the  world.  And  in- 
deed thei*e  were  times — not  only  during  the  Turkish 
oppression,  but  also  during  the  rule  of  Christian 
monarchs,  whether  Greek  or  Bulgarian,  or  of  the 
petty  usurpers  of  local  governments — when  the  serf's 
reproach  might  be  excusable,  or  at  least  intelligible. 
In  the  era  we  are  now  considering  there  was  a  moral 
as  well  as  a  material  collapse.  Or,  rather,  it  was  the 
moral  corruption  that  caused  the  political  downfall — 
temporary  in  this  case,  yet  prophetic  of  further  disas- 
ters— and  prepared  the  way  for  the  Turkish  invasion, 
though  at  this  date  the  Turks  had  not  emerged 
from  their  Asiatic  obscurity :  the  corruption  of 
*  Byzantism,'  that  lurked  in  the  elegancies  of  the 
Bulgarian  court  at  Preslav.  The  infection  was,  writes 
M.  Mijatovitch,  late  Servian  minister  in  London, 
'  inevitable  ' ;  for  the  Bulgars  went  to  Byzantium  for 
religious  as  well  as  for  political  wisdom.  Even  as 
early  as  the  tenth  century,  Bulgarian  Christianity  was 
declining  into  an  *  adoration  of  old  bones,  rags,  and 
mummies,'  such  as  the  Orthodox  ritual  consisted  of, 
when  the  Turks  came.    In  Czar  Peter's  long  reign  the 


32  CZAR  FERDINAND 

ecclesiastical  hierarchy  became  the  mainstay  of  poli- 
tical absolutism.  The  higher  clergy  taught,  in  its 
grossest  form,  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of  kings. 
Unquestioning  submission  to  the  czar  and  the  priest 
was  enjoined  upon  the  masses  of  the  Bulgarian  people, 
whose  indigenous  form  of  Christianity  was  consistent 
with  a  virile  spirit  of  independence.  The  higher 
clergy  occupied  the  position  of  feudal  lords,  no  less 
exacting  than  the  boyards  themselves,  to  the  peasant 
classes.  From  this  condition  of  things,  a^  from  its 
natural  soil,  there  sprang  up  the  moral  and  religious 
insurrection  known  as  Bogomilism — precursor  of  the 
Albigensian  movement  in  Southern  France  and  of 
the  Protestant  revolt  in  Germany.  The  form  it 
assumed  was  precisely  what  we  should  expect  in  an 
illiterate  community,  the  helpless  victim  of  social 
injustice,  whose  Christianity  was  tinged  with  the 
melancholy  of  their  ancestral  nature-worship  and 
retained  many  of  its  barbaric  elements.  This  note  of 
gloom,  though  not  the  dominant  note,  pervades  the 
folk-songs  of  the  Bulgars,  as  of  their  Serb  and  Rouman 
neighbours.  Bogomilism  was  but  an  expression  of  it. 
It  was  a  religion  of  despair,  of  renunciation,  of  con- 
viction in  the  profitlessness  of  battle  with  the  evil  in 
the  world.  So  the  Protestantism  of  the  mediaeval 
Bulgarians  widely  differed  in  spirit  from  the  Pro- 
testantism of  the  self-assertive,  genial,  fighting  Martin 
Luther  and  his  followers.  In  a  former  passage  we 
have  cited  a  pessimistic  proverb  of  the  Bulgars  on  the 
scheme  of  the  world.    We  hear  the  echo  of  it  in  the 


CZAR    FERDINAND    OF   BULGARIA 


THE  FIRST  GREAT  EPOCH  33 

Bogomile  *  heresy/  as  the  outraged  Byzantine  Church 
called  it.  The  difference  is  that  the  Bogomile  doctrine 
attaches  to  *  Satanael '  the  responsibility  which  the 
proverb  attributes  to  the  Deity.  For  the  *  Love  of 
God  '  (which  the  name  Bogomile  signifies)  men  must 
abandon  the  world.  And  so,  quite  naturally,  the 
Bogomile  age  became  an  age  of  monastic  retreat.  It 
was  at  this  time  that  Monk  Ivan,  destined  to  become 
the  patron  saint  of  Bulgaria,  took  refuge  from  the 
world  on  Mount  Rilo,  where  after  his  death  there 
was  founded,  in  memory  of  him,  the  great  monastery 
which  in  a  later  age  played  its  part  in  the  renaissance 
of  Bulgaria,  and  which  still  attracts  its  multitudes  of 
pilgrims — among  them  Czar  Ferdinand,  who  in  this 
as  in  other  respects  shows  himself  a  good  Bulgar. 


V 

THE  ZENITH  OF  MEDIAEVAL  BULGARIA 

The  Bulgar  Protestants  bore  some  resemblance  to  the 
'  anti- militarists/  *  anti- patriots/  '  anti- capitalists/ 
*  ultra-democrats  '  of  the  twentieth  century — at  least 
as  these  are  exhibited  for  the  popular  scorn  by  the 
orthodox.  They  were  also,  in  their  way,  woman- 
suffragists.  They  had  women-preachers.  In  spite 
of  their  moral  justification  in  a  period  of  pernicious 
shams,  these  earliest  of  European  Protestants  are  by 
some  historians  held  responsible,  to  a  large  extent,  for 
the  helplessness  of  the  state  in  face  of  the  foe — first 
the  Greek  foe,  now  shaking  off  his  lethargy,  and  turn- 
ing from  theological  dialectics  to  the  art  of  war,  and 
after  him  the  Turk.  A  suggested  explanation  of  the 
ease  with  which,  in  a  later  century,  the  Turks 
conquered  Bosnia  is  the  prevalence  of  Bogomilism 
in  that  province. 

Here,  then,  there  is  repeated  the  principal  lesson  of 
the  epoch,  as  eloquent  a  lesson  to  modern  Bulgaria  and 
her  Allies  as  to  the  mediaeval  states.  Owing  to  their 
union  and  singleness  of  purpose,  the  Bulgars'  career 
for  well-nigh  three  centuries  had  been  one  of  un- 
interrupted progress.  But  it  was  also  owing  to  the 
lack  of  these  advantages  on  the  side  of  their  opponent 
— an  empire  rent  by  civil  and  religious  strife.  Now, 
however,  the  parts  of  the  actors  on  the  stage  are  to  be 

34 


THE  ZENITH  OF  MEDIAEVAL  BULGARIA    35 

reversed  for  a  time  :  the  Greeks  are  falling  in,  the 
Bulgarian  kinglets,  like  the  proverbial  bundle  of 
sticks,  falling  asunder.  A  short  line  of  energetic 
emperors,  beginning  with  Nicephorus,  prop  up  the 
tottering  edifice  of  the  Caesars.  Thrace  was  wrested 
from  the  last  czar  of  East  Bulgaria.  Czar  Peter's 
successor,  having  lost  his  entire  kingdom,  was  taken 
to  Constantinople,  where  he  lived  in  a  state  of 
luxurious  captivity.  For  the  Eastern  Bulgarians  it 
was  a  choice  between  subjection  to  the  Greeks,  or  to 
the  Russians,  who  were  raiding  on  the  Bulgarian 
side  of  the  Danube,  vaguely  anticipating  Peter  the 
Great's  *  dream.'  As  we  have  already  pointed  out, 
the  western  portion  of  the  Bulgarian  realm  became 
at  this  period  an  independent  state,  but  the  fissi- 
parous  tendencies  of  its  feudal  chiefships  went  far  to 
neutralise  the  energy  and  the  talents  even  of  a  Czar 
Schishman.  Czar  Samuel,  a  greater  man  and  ruler 
of  men  than  Schishman,  displayed,  it  is  true,  all  the 
valour  and  all  the  fiery  energy  of  the  early  czars.  But 
he  had  to  contend  not  only  against  his  feudatories' 
separatist  bent,  but  also  against  an  opponent,  the 
Emperor  Basil  11.,  his  equal  in  ability  and  activity,  the 
ruthless  *  Bulgar-killer  '  of  the  Greek  and  Slavonian 
chroniclers.  Czar  and  Emperor  were  well  matched, 
and  so  the  long  combat  between  the  Greek  and  *  the 
barbarian  '  (as  the  Hellenic  people  have  customarily 
named  the  Bulgars,  even  unto  Czar  Ferdinand's  day) 
proved  to  be  the  most  sanguinary  on  record,  before  or 
since.    One  of  the  show-places  for  tourists  in  Bulgaria 


36  CZAR  FERDINAND 

is  Trajan *s  Pass,  where  the  *  Bulgar-killer  '  (whom,  by 
the  way,  a  dehriously  deHghted  populace  had  not  yet 
rewarded  with  the  title)  suffered  a  crushing  and 
bloody  defeat  by  the  alert  Czar  Samuel.  Historical 
students  are  familiar  with  the  tales  of  Basil's  treatment 
of  his  Bulgar  captives.  It  is  recorded  that  on  one 
occasion  he  put  out  the  eyes  of  fifteen  thousand 
prisoners,  but  sparing  an  eye  to  every  hundredth  man, 
so  that  the  hundred  and  fifty  one-eyed  men  might  see 
their  way  to  lead  the  totally  blind  rabble  to  Czar 
Samuel  in  Prilip,  the  Macedonian  town  captured  by 
the  Servians,  the  capital  of  the  mediaeval  Prince 
Marko,  whom  the  Serbs  and  the  Bulgars  claim  as 
their  typical  hero.  The  historians  make  mention 
of  the  Czar's  horror.  But  the  Bulgars  themselves 
were  experts  in  eye-gouging,  though  never  to  the 
Christian  Emperor's  frightful  extent.  An  eye  for 
an  eye.  They  were  Old  Testament  Christians, 
those  Greek  and  Bulgar  worshippers  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace  in  the  religious  Middle  Age.  Bulgar 
Christians  perpetrated  atrocities  on  their  fellow- 
creatures  long  before  the  Turk's  advent.  The 
barbaric  taint  reveals  itself  times  without  number 
in  the  traditional  songs  and  legends  of  the  people : 
jilted  lovers  tear  out  their  ladies'  eyes  and  drop  them, 
with  a  cutting  sarcasm,  into  the  bosom  of  their  dress  ; 
jealous  husbands  behead  their  wives  or  burn  them 
alive  ;  sons,  in  their  irritation  for  some  trivial  cause, 
drag  their  mothers  about  by  their  hair.  The  fre- 
quency of  political  assassination,  in  these  latter  days. 


THE  ZENITH  OF  MEDIAEVAL  BULGARIA    37 

in  the  South  Slavic  countries,  the  mere  fact  that 
tales  and  lays  of  horror  such  as  those  alluded  to  retain 
their  vogue  among  the  peasantry  (who  constitute  the 
great  majority  of  the  population),  may  lead  one  to 
reflect  that  there  still  exists  some  ground  for  the 
distinction  which  a  Bulgar  or  a  Serb  makes  between 
his  country  and  '  Europe.'  '  I  am  going  to  Europe,* 
you  may  hear  him  say — as  a  Turk  in  Anatolia  might 
say — ^when  about  to  start  on  a  journey  in  a  certain 
direction. 

But  in  restoring  the  old  boundaries  of  the  Byzan- 
tine Empire  up  to  the  banks  of  Danube,  Basil  11.  left 
his  Bulgarian  subjects  in  a  worse  plight  than  he  had 
found  them.  To  the  boyards  who  had  submitted, and 
whom  he  pacified  and  flattered  with  courtly  titles  and 
official  posts,  he  committed  the  uncontrolled  govern- 
ment of  the  Bulgar  townspeople  and  peasantry.  Pro- 
vided they  were  punctual  in  their  remittance  of  tribute 
— extorted  from  a  population  already  impoverished — 
they  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Emperor  in  Con- 
stantinople. In  his  capacity  of  local  administrator  the 
Bulgar  boyard  was  as  avaricious  and  corrupt  as  his 
Greek  colleague :  Greek  and  Bulgar,  having,  as  a  rule, 
bought  their  offices,  recouped  themselves  at  the  tax- 
payers' cost.  The  people  were  ground  between  the 
upper  and  nether  millstones.  It  was  said  of  the 
boyard  class  that  they  were  no  better  than  brigands. 
The  situation  under  Byzantine  rule  closely  resembled 
that  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  centuries  later,  under 
the  Turks,  when  bishops  and  members  of  the  higher 


38  CZAR  FERDINAND 

clergy  and  civil  officials  purchased,  at  extortionate 
prices,  posts  which  they  were  permitted  to  hold  only 
for  short  periods — the  more  frequent  the  sales  the 
more  profit  for  the  pashas  by  the  Golden  Horn. 
Precisely  the  same  system  of  ecclesiastical  blackmail 
was  imposed  upon  the  Bulgarian  clergy,  high  and  low, 
so  long  as  the  Greek  Church  held  the  religious  mono- 
poly in  the  country — that  is  to  say,  until  1870.  The 
result  was  rebellion — ^but  an  anarchic  rebellion,  re- 
sembling the  South  American  caudillo  wars  already 
cited  by  way  of  illustration.  Rival  boyards  betray 
each  other  for  reward  by  the  Emperor.  One  of  them 
is  stoned  to  death.  Another  is  deprived  of  his  nose 
and  eyes.  And  the  Emperor  of  the  Romans  is  power- 
less to  put  an  end  to  the  disorder.  The  Greek 
Empire  might  be  compared  to  a  tree,  fair  and  solid 
to  look  at,  but  worm-eaten  within,  and  fated  at  the 
next  tempestuous  blast  to  crumble  into  dust.  But  in 
spite  of  institutional  disasters,  the  vitality  of  the  new 
Slavo-Bulgar  race,  which  at  the  time  we  have  now 
reached  (the  end  of  the  twelfth  century)  had  been  five 
hundred  years  in  process  of  growth,  was  unimpaired. 
They  had  not  yet  attained,  in  their  evolution,  to  the 
stage  of  national  cohesion.  The  race — a  most  virile 
one — existed.  The  nation,  in  the  sense  attached  to 
the  name  by  Czar  Ferdinand's  people,  did  not.  They 
still  needed  an  ablest  man  to  keep  them  together,  and 
to  achieve  a  fresh  success  over  chaos.  And  the  ablest 
man  did  appear  when  prospects  seemed  blackest.  He 
was  a  boyard  of  high  character,  Ivan  A9en  the  First,  a 


THE  ZENITH  OF  MEDIEVAL  BULGARIA    39 

servant  of  the  oppressive  Imperial  Government — just 
as  many  a  patriotic  Bulgar  (Stambouloff  himself,  for 
one)  served  the  Turkish  Government  up  to  the  War  of 
Liberation.  Ivan  the  First  resumed  the  title  of  Czar 
of  the  Greeks  and  Bulgars.  Ivan  A9en  the  Second, 
the  greatest  and  nearly  the  last  of  them,  is  perhaps 
the  Bulgar  people's  favourite.  His  name  is  familiar 
to  every  small  boy  and  girl  in  the  elementary  schools, 
which  Czar  Ferdinand  makes  his  special  care — for  he 
is  an  ardent  educationist.  Like  Czars  Simeon  and 
Samuel  before  him,  he  cherished  the  great  idea  of  a 
union  of  all  the  Slav  principalities — Servian,  Bul- 
garian, Bosnian — to  take  the  place  of  the  decaying 
Byzantine  Empire.  He  was  centuries  before  his  time. 
But  he  accomplished  a  step  in  consolidating  the 
Bulgarian  people,  or  at  any  rate  in  developing 
among  them  the  sentiment  of  race.  The  translation 
of  the  relics  of  St.  John  of  Rilo  from  Sofia  to  Tirnovo 
was  effected  by  the  A^enides.  It  was  a  politic  step. 
For  Tirnovo  was  the  capital,  and  the  cause  of 
national  unity  would  be  promoted  by  the  pilgrimages 
to  the  shrine  of  Bulgaria's  patron  saint.  Another 
A^enide,  Czar  Kaloyan — Gibbon's  Calo-John,  who 
figures,  by  name,  in  the  heroic  lays  that  have  been 
transmitted  from  mouth  to  mouth  among  the  people 
since  the  final  collapse  of  the  mediaeval  czardom — 
regained  much  of  the  territory  which  the  '  Bulgar- 
killer  '  had  won  from  Czar  Samuel.  He  became 
celebrated  as  the  *  scourge  of  the  Romans.'  But  his 
morals  were  the  morals  of  his  age,  and  the  mercen- 


40  CZAR  FERDINAND 

aries  whom  he  employed  in  his  successful  wars  with 
the  Greeks  were  no  more  humane  than  the  Turkish 
bashi-bazouks  whose  misdeeds  have  in  our  own  time 
shocked  Europe.  The  manner  of  his  death,  also,  was 
characteristic  of  the  age.  He  was  assassinated  by  his 
wife,  who  then  married  her  accomplice,  the  Czar*s 
nephew,  Boril,  who  in  his  turn  paid  the  penalty  for 
his  crime  when  A9en  ii.,  whom  we  have  already 
mentioned,  and  who  succeeded  him,  or  some  enemy 
perhaps  acting  in  his  interests,  took  the  fashion- 
able course  of  putting  his  eyes  out. 

In  the  folk-songs  of  the  Bulgars  no  form  of  ven- 
geance is  commoner  than  deprivation  of  sight.  The 
Christian  hero,  who  regards  the  non-observance  of 
Easter  Day  as  a  mortal  sin,  will  have  no  scruple  in 
blinding  a  hated  rival,  and  dismissing  him  with  the 
savage  sarcasm, '  Now  go  and  get  a.gadoulka  (fiddle), 
and  in  the  market-place,  for  money,  sing  my  renown.' 

Yet  Ivan  Agen,  the  alleged  gouger  of  his  predeces- 
sor, Boril  (though  the  slightest  touch  of  a  dagger 
point  would  have  done  the  business),  is  the  humanest, 
most  attractive,  most  intelligent  of  all  the  Bulgarian 
czars.  A  warrior  and  conqueror  (the  Bulgarian  Empire 
regained  its  former  limits  during  his  prosperous  and 
happy  reign),  he  was,  by  preference,  a  man  of  peace. 
Development  of  industry  at  home,  and  of  trade  with 
foreign  countries,  was,  next  to  the  possession  of  Con- 
stantinople, his  main  ambition.  This  dream  of  pos- 
session haunted  him,  as  it  has  done  all  the  great 
Bulgarian  czars.    And  in  that  epoch  there  were  sound 


THE  ZENITH  OF  MEDIEVAL  BULGARIA    41 

reasons  why  it  should.  Muscovy  was  still  in  process 
of  becoming.  The  Byzantine  Empire  was  doomed. 
Nor  was  the  Turk,  as  yet,  within  sight,  though  his 
movements  in  Anatolia  were  more  or  less  notorious. 
And  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula  there  existed  the  material 
for  the  creation  of  a  powerful  state,  to  which  the 
possession  of  the  imperial  city  would  be  needful  for 
trade  with  the  East.  But  the  so-called  emperors  of 
the  *  Latin,*  otherwise  Prankish  invaders,  still  in 
temporary  occupation  of  Constantinople,  as  also  the 
Patriarch  of  the  Orthodox  Church,  defeated  a  plaus- 
ible scheme  which  the  Czar  had  formed  for  assuming 
the  government  of  the  capital  in  the  capacity  of  regent 
during  the  minority  of  his  somewhat  distant  relative, 
the  Imperial  heir.  It  was  the  least  unpromising 
chance  the  Bulgarian  czars  have  ever  had  of  securing 
a  foothold  on  the  Golden  Horn.  But  a  small  strip 
of  country,  nearly  identical  with  that  which  the 
Bulgarian  negotiators  would  leave  in  Turkish 
possession,  separated  Czar  A9en's  hosts  from 
Constantinople. 


VI 

FAILURE  OF  MEDIAEVAL  CONFEDERATION 

Like  Czar  Ferdinand,  the  last  great  A9enide  was  a 
patron  of  the  arts.  He  beautified  his  capital,  Tir- 
novo — as  his  latest  successor  is  beautifying  Sofia,  a 
town  far  less  favoured  by  nature  than  is  the  historic 
town  on  the  slope  of  the  Great  Balkan.  In  Ivan 
Aden's  reign  the  mediaeval  czardom  reached  its  zenith. 
Soon  after  his  death  the  Greeks  recaptured  Macedonia, 
and  under  a  succession  of  incapable  czars,  unable  to 
restrain  the  boyards,  whom  the  greatest  of  the  A9en- 
ides  had  not  only  reduced  to  submission,  but  also 
associated  with  him  in  the  public  administration, 
united  Bulgaria  gradually  became  the  prey  of  rival 
factions.  And  while  the  Bulgarian  state  was  sinking, 
its  neighbour,  Servia,  was  rapidly  rising  to  the  leader- 
ship of  all  the  Slavic  races  between  the  Danube  and 
the  three  seas.  Servia  had  found  what  Bulgaria  had 
lost — a  ruler  of  men,  the  sort  of  man  needed  by  a 
people  still  in  the  early  stage  of  its  path  towards 
nationhood.  It  is  the  advent  of  the  great  man  among 
a  people  endowed  with  merely  potential  capacity  for 
organised  self-direction,  that  lends  a  peculiar  interest 
to  this  epoch  in  the  story  of  the  Near  East.  The 
Servian  great  man,  Stephan  Dushan,  who  now  ap- 
pears on  the  scene,  might  have  found  a  place  among 
Carlyle's   Heroes.     He   interests   us   here   because, 

42 


MEDIAEVAL  CONFEDERATION  FAILS    43 

though  not  a  Bulgarian,  he  partially  realised  the 
dream  cherished  by  all  the  great  czars,  Servian  or 
Bulgarian,  of  a  confederation  of  the  Slavic  races.  To 
this  end  he  began  by  consolidating  his  native  Servia, 
in  which  the  centrifugal  tendency,  already  remarked 
as  a  Slav  characteristic,  was  as  active  as  in  the  neigh- 
bouring state.  In  neither  of  these  states  had  there 
been  a  regular  army,  on  anything  resembling  the 
modern  European  model.  Even  Czar  Dushan's 
armies,  and  the  Bulgar  Czar  Kaloyan's,  were  com- 
posed of  semi-feudal  contingents,  whose  co-operation 
could  only  be  secured  by  the  iron  hand  of  a  Carlylean 
*  Hero.'  We  shall  see  that  on  the  field  of  Kossovo,  at 
a  moment  when  the  fate  of  the  Servian  Czar  Lazare, 
the  Allies'  commander-in-chief,  and  of  Sultan  Murad, 
hung  in  the  balance — as  Hector's  and  Achilles'  in 
the  scales  of  Zeus — the  desertion  of  a  Servian  con- 
tingent made  the  Christian  defeat  a  certainty.  *Down 
sank  the  scale  '  of  Lazare 's  *  fated  day,'  when  Bran- 
covitch  rode  off  with  his  ten  thousand  men. 

And  the  necessity  for  the  combined  effort  which 
the  Serb  king  strove  to  achieve  was  more  urgent  than 
it  had  ever  been  since  the  first  Slav  and  Bulgar  raiders 
crossed  the  Danube.  For  in  1348,  when  he  was 
crowned  at  Uskub,  the  great  battle  which  decided  the 
fate  of  the  Christian  races  for  the  next  five  centuries 
was  only  forty-one  years  ahead.  Seldom  had  the 
Greeks  been  formidable  enemies.  But  the  most  for- 
midable, and  also  the  most  ruthless,  in  the  world,  the 
Turks,  were  at  last  at  hand.    At  the  date  of  the  Serb 


44  CZAR  FERDINAND 

king's  coronation,  two  or  three  years  had  passed  since 
the  Turkish  landing  in  GalHpoH.  They  were  now 
ravaging  Thrace  and  threatening  Macedonia.  A 
combined  attack  by  the  Serb  and  Bulgar  armies  under 
Dushan's  command  failed  disastrously.  His  early 
death,  in  1355,  put  a  stop  to  further  plans  for  a  joint 
campaign  on  a  larger  scale,  and  was  followed  by 
dynastic  disorders  in  both  states.  In  Bulgaria  the  two 
sons  of  the  reigning  czar  fought  for  the  succession, 
with  the  result  that  the  country  was  split  up  into  a 
number  of  independent  states.  Worse  than  all,  one  of 
the  independent  princes — Schishman  the  Third,  the 
last  of  his  name  and  lineage — called  in  the  Turks  to 
aid  him  against  his  rivals.  As  lord  of  Central  Bul- 
garia, and  of  Tirnovo,  the  old  capital  and  rallying- 
point  of  the  Bulgarian  people,  he  boasted  a  superior 
degree  of  power  and  prestige.  In  profiting  by  Sultan 
Murad's  help,  he  became  Sultan  Murad's  vassal.  He 
witnessed  helplessly  the  occupation  of  one  town  after 
another  by  the  Turks.  In  1382,  seven  years  before 
the  decisive  battle,  the  Turks,  leaving  Tirnovo  un- 
molested, annexed  Sofia.  Not  only  had  the  leading 
Bulgarian  prince  become  the  Sultan's  vassal,  but 
Marko  himself — who,  though  a  Serb  by  birth,  is  made 
to  figure  in  the  Bulgarian  folk-songs  as  the  typical 
Bulgar,  *  the  incarnation  of  the  Bulgar  character,'  as 
German  writers  designate  him — served  on  Murad's 
side  during  the  Sultan's  conquest  of  Macedonia. 
Murad,  one  of  the  best  of  the  early  sultans,  was  at 
the  same  time  imposing  an  orderly  government  upon 


MEDIAEVAL  CONFEDERATION  FAILS    45 

his  newly  won  territories.  A  harsh  system  in  many 
respects.  Turkish  colonists  from  Anatolia,  soldiers 
from  the  wars  settled  in  Thrace,  Macedonia,  and  the 
central  and  eastern  regions  of  Bulgaria,  took  pos- 
session of  the  larger  share  of  the  lands  held  by  the 
boyards  and  their  peasants.  Historians  are  agreed 
that  at  least  during  this  period  the  Bulgarian  peasantry 
were  treated  more  mildly  by  their  new  masters  than 
by  their  own  compatriots,  the  boyard  landlords.  But 
it  is  as  certain  that  the  Turks  were  merciless  to  all 
Christians  whose  influence  they  feared,  or  whom  they 
suspected  of  disaffection.  For  all  such  persons 
banishment  or  extermination  was  the  probable  fate. 
But  conversion  to  the  Mohammedan  faith  was  an  in- 
fallible guarantee  for  security.  It  would  be  a  curious 
revelation  were  it  possible  to  trace  the  ancestry  of  the 
*  Turks '  who  at  this  moment  inhabit  Czar  Ferdinand *s 
enlarged  dominions,  or  have  been  fighting  him  in  his 
late  campaign.  It  would  doubtless  be  found  that 
great  numbers  of  them  were  the  descendants  of  Chris- 
tian Slavs — such  as  the  Pomacks  of  the  Bulgar- 
Macedonian  border,  who  have  often  done  their  share 
in  crushing  a  Macedonian  rising.  Conversions  to 
Mohammedanism  appear  to  have  been  wholesale 
among  the  rich  class,  the  boyard  class — as  in  after 
time  was  the  case  among  the  Bosnian  beys,  who  be- 
came more  Turkish  than  the  Turks.  And  if  the  Turks 
often  gave  a  Christian  notable  his  choice  between 
Islam  and  the  sword,  they  were  no  worse  than  the 
Czar  Boris,  who,  as  we  have  already  seen,  slaughtered 


46  CZAR  FERDINAND 

those  who  refused  to  follow  him  into  the  Christian 
fold.  But  there  was  another  form  of  conversion 
which  the  Turks  had  introduced  into  Europe,  and 
which  proved  as  efficacious  as  the  innate  valour  of 
their  own  unmixed  race,  for  the  conquest  of  Bulgaria. 
This  was  the  institution  of  the  military  order  of 
janissaries  (the  tribute  soldiers,  levied  upon  Christian 
families,  and  brought  up  from  boyhood  as  Mohamme- 
dans), briefly  described  by  the  writer  in  an  earlier 
volume.^  And  the  second  generation  of  these  re- 
doubtable warriors,  *  Turks  *  without  a  drop  of  Turk- 
ish blood  in  them,  were  mustering  for  the  last  conflict. 
Kossovo  fight,  described  in  the  little  volume  already 
named,  followed.  A  few  years  later  the  Turks  occu- 
pied Tirnovo,  and  before  the  eyes  of  a  captor  less 
indulgent  and  humane  than  his  grandfather  Sultan 
Murad,  the  city  was  pillaged,  its  palaces  set  on  fire, 
its  people  massacred,  with  all  the  circumstances  of 
indignity  and  humiliation  that  for  the  next  five  cen- 
turies marked  every  Turkish  repression  of  an  attempt 
at  freedom.  Bulgaria  ceased  to  exist.  Of  the  end 
or  the  resting-place  of  her  last  czar,  Schishman  iii., 
nothing  is  known. 

But,  as  M.  Bousquet  narrates  in  his  excellent 
history ,2  the  obscure  masses  of  the  Bulgarian  people 
escaped  the  moral  contamination  which  ruined  the 
boyard  class,  and  through  them  the  state.  Neither  in 
the  ruling  nor  in  the  subject  classes  had  the  idea  of 

*  Turkey  and  the  Eastern  ^estion  (Messrs.  Jack),  191 3. 
2  Histoire  du  Peuple  Bulgare,  1909, 


MEDIAEVAL  CONFEDERATION  FAILS    47 

country — of  the  patria — emerged  from  its  rudiment- 
ary stage.  The  race  was  overwhelmed  before  it  had 
the  time  to  evolve  a  literature,  a  religious  cult,  a 
dynastic  feeling,  a  sentiment  of  social  solidarity,  with- 
out which  the  stage  of  nationality  was  unattainable. 
Except  in  periods  of  merely  mechanical  concentration 
against  a  common  danger,  and  under  leaders  excep- 
tionally intelligent  and  masterful,  the  Southern  Slavs, 
Bulgar  and  Serb  alike,  were  no  better  than  a  mob, 
through  which  the  solid,  compact,  organised  mass  of 
the  Turkish  invaders  could  rush,  like  a  bullet  through 
cloud.  But  though  the  Bulgar  state  vanished,  the 
Bulgar  himself,  the  man  of  the  people,  with  all  his 
rude  virility,  and  his  great  capacities,  latent  though 
undisclosed,  remained.  We  are  again  reminded  of 
the  similitude  of  the  mummy  wheat.  Ages  of  oppres- 
sion failed  to  destroy  the  vitality  of  the  race.  The 
Bulgars  of  Czar  Ferdinand's  War  of  Liberation  are 
the  Bulgars  of  the  Turkish  oppression.  The  Bulgar 
character  is  revealed  in  the  centuries  of  folk-songs 
with  a  vividness  unsurpassed  in  the  corresponding 
productions  of  any  other  people.  Forced  labour, 
deprivation  not  only  of  public  but  also  of  domestic 
rights,  hardships  of  fugitive  patriots  among  the  moun- 
tains and  in  the  forests,  massacres,  capricious  punish- 
ments of  the  most  atrocious  description — the  themes 
of  these  folk-songs — failed  to  crush  the  silently 
enduring  race,  arrested  in  its  slow  growth — slow  as 
the  oak-tree's — ^gone  out  of  the  world's  ken.  The 
bursting  forth  of  the  vitality  of  this  seemingly  extinct 


48  CZAR  FERDINAND 

race,  its  swift  advance  in  national  coalescence  and  to 
a  commanding  position  among  the  Powers  of  Europe, 
its  recent  exploit  in  the  cause  of  human  freedom  and 
justice,  its  amazing  progress  under  Czar  Ferdinand — 
all  within  the  short  space  of  thirty-five  years — is  not 
the  least  astonishing  phenomenon  of  the  age. 


VII 

BULGAR  CHARACTER  IN  THE  FOLK-SONGS 

To  the  folk-bard,  to  the  patriot  outlaw,  to  the  monk, 
but  principally  to  the  first  of  the  three,  the  Bulgarians 
owe,  more  than  to  any  other  special  agency,  the  salva- 
tion, from  extinction,  of  the  spirit  of  their  race.  The 
folk-lays,  though  dating,  large  numbers  of  them,  from 
the  destruction  of  the  czardom  and  the  establishment 
of  the  Turkish  dominion,  are  not  of  much  historical 
value,  in  the  narrow  sense  of  the  adjective.  But  as  a 
picture  of  the  mind  and  character  of  a  people  they  are 
unique  :  a  picture  occupying  five  hundred  years  in  the 
painting,  and  in  a  manner  to  be  regarded  as  the  work 
of  the  people  themselves,  inasmuch  as  the  nameless 
bards  who  composed  them,  and  from  whom  they  were 
transmitted  by  word  of  mouth,  were  men  of  the  people. 
So  that  these  popular  lays  are  history  in  a  real  sense. 
An  attentive  reader  of  these  songs  will  often  come  upon 
an  incidental  allusion  which,  like  a  minute  aperture 
revealing  a  landscape,  will  open  up  for  him  a  whole 
social  horizon.  For  example,  in  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  heroic  lays.  Princess  Grinya  tries  to 
dissuade  her  husband  from  going  forth  to  the  battle 
in  which  his  brother.  Czar  Schishman,  the  last  king 
of  the  Bulgarians,  and  his  chiefs,  and  a  great  multi- 
tude of  his  people,  are  doomed  to  perish.  She  would 
divert  him  from  his  purpose  by  the  fascination  of  her 


50  CZAR  FERDINAND 

beauty.  *  Beautiful  thou  art,'  says  the  Bulgar  prince, 
*  but  thou  art  a  Greek.  What  carest  thou  for  the 
Bulgar  people,  or  for  me  who  am  one  of  them  ?  '  The 
secular  contempt  of  the  Greeks,  the  intellectual  elite 
of  the  East,  for  the  *  Bulgar  animal '  {houlgaros  apan- 
thropos)  is  summed  up  in  the  prince's  little  speech. 
It  was  as  unmeasured  as  the  Turk's.  We  have  already 
made  mention  of  the  survival — even  to  the  outbreak 
of  the  present  war — of  this  Greek  detestation,  which 
had  its  origin  in  the  early  Bulgarian  wars  (usually 
victorious)  with  the  Byzantine  Empire.  The  rivalries 
in  the  negotiations  for  distribution  of  the  Turk's  lost 
possessions,  little  of  which  is  revealed  to  the  news- 
paper press,  and  which,  as  is  believed,  the  conciliatory 
Czar  Ferdinand  is  doing  his  best  to  assuage,  remind 
one  that  the  old  jealousies  still  live.  The  folk-poetry 
of  the  Bulgars  is  far  less  known  to  the  British  public 
than  it  deserves  to  be.  A  series  of  representative 
lays,  translated  into  English,  is  given  in  The  Shade  of 
the  Balkans,  the  joint  work  of  Dr.  Dillon,  Mr.  Bernard, 
and  the  Bulgarian  poet,  Slaveikoff.  M.  Dozon,  the 
French  Orientalist,  produced,  many  years  ago,  a  series 
of  translations  from  the  heroic  ballads.  In  the  Uni- 
versity of  Paris  M.  Louis  Leger  has  recently  lectured 
on  the  legends  that  have  clustered  round  Marko — 
that  is  to  say,  the  hero  as  appropriated  and  portrayed 
in  their  own  image  by  the  Bulgars,  for  the  Serbs,  also, 
claim  him  as  their  own.  But  the  most  copious  trans- 
lations are  in  German — Dr.  Adolf  Strausz's,  for 
example. 


BULGAR  CHARACTER  IN  FOLK-SONGS  51 

Of  the  various  classes  into  which  native  editors 
and  foreign  translators  have  arranged  the  Bulgarian 
folk-songs — heroic  songs,  brigand  songs,  songs  on 
marriage  and  other  social  customs,  mystical  songs, 
songs  of  death  and  the  other  world — the  first-named 
have  been  the  popular  favourites.  *  They  are  the 
gems  of  our  literature,*  M.  Slaveikoff  says,  as  the  out- 
laws whose  tragical  lives  they  describe  are  *  the  glory 
of  our  race/  M.  Slaveikoff  himself,  besides  being  the 
laureate  of  Bulgaria,  had  done  notable  things  in  the 
fighting  line.  But  in  this  place  the  lays  interest  us 
less  as  memorials  of  five  centuries'  warfare  with  the 
Turks  than  as  expressions  of  the  temperament  of  the 
race,  of  their  character,  and  spiritual  attitude  towards 
the  world.  From  this  point  of  view  they  are  a  revela- 
tion of  the  Bulgar's  intense  love  of,  and  sympathy 
with,  nature.  Love  of  nature,  of  music,  and  the 
dance  is  innate  in  the  very  humblest  of  Czar  Ferdin- 
and's subjects.  It  is  a  trait  which  no  foreign  traveller 
among  them  can  fail  to  detect.  In  many  a  popular 
lay,  the  Samovila  spares  the  life  of  a  mortal  who  has 
offended  her,  as  a  reward  for  his  sweet  playing  on  his 
lute  or  pipe.  (The  Samovila  is  a  deity,  or  spirit,  of 
the  brook,  the  hill,  and  the  forest,  with  whom  the 
Bulgarian  heathen  found  it  impossible  to  part  when 
he  became  a  Christian.)  Sometimes,  also,  the  folk- 
poet  sings  how,  for  the  same  reason,  an  atrocious  Turk 
was  melted  into  forgiveness  of  a  Bulgar  *  brigand  ' 
whom  he  had  captured. 

But  the  love  of  nature  is  the  trait  constantly  in 


52  CZAR  FERDINAND 

evidence,  and  love  in  the  sense  of  sympathy,  mystic 
communion,  between  the  two.  Father  Balkan  draws 
his  robe  of  cloud  over  his  face,  *  when  the  land  is  dark 
with  the  smoke  of  burning  villages/  More  quaintly, 
he  droops  his  chin  on  his  breast,  and  dreams  of  the 
fate  that  awaits  the  race  in  the  far-off  years.  Or  he 
rejoices  to  hear  the  music  of  the  outlaws'  swords  and 
the  murmurous  twanging  of  their  bows.  And  the 
*  dear  Greenwood  '  bows  her  head  in  sorrow  for  the 
children  whom  the  Turk  has  made  orphans.  A 
voivode  (captain  of  an  outlaw  band)  passing  by  '  the 
little  forest '  in  summer  tide  is  amazed  to  see  that  she 
is  withered.  To  his  questioning  she  replies  that 
neither  frost  nor  fire  has  done  it,  but  only  the  appari- 
tion of  the  Turk,  as  he  marched  thereby  with  his  band 
of  captives — youthful  heroes,  wives,  maidens,  and 
children.  In  no  literature  is  the  pathetic  fallacy 
more  poignantly  expressed.  The  Greenwood  is  the 
outlaw's  mother,  or  bride,  or  sister — as  the  Balkan  is 
his  father.  The  bride  arrays  herself  in  her  green  robe 
and  flowers  for  his  coming,  on  or  immediately  after 
St.  George's  day,  when  the  leaves  are  coming  out,  and 
the  ha'idouk  (outlaw)  bands  are  betaking  them  to  their 
haunts  from  their  winter  hiding-places  in  the  villages. 
And  she  sorrows  when  her  haidouk,  wearied  of  his 
romantic  existence,  returns  to  the  commonplace  life 
of  civilisation.  The  forest  sounds  are  to  him  a  mystic 
language  unintelligible  to  all  save  her  lovers.  Like 
Siegfried  in  the  Lay  of  Nihelungs^  he  understands  the 
speech  of  the  forest  birds.    Some  of  the  most  touch- 


BULGAR  CHARACTER  IN  FOLK-SONGS  53 

ing  passages  in  the  heroic  songs  relate  how  a  raven,  or 
falcon,  whom  the  hero  had  befriended,  sheltered  him 
when  left  wounded  after  a  battle,  brought  him  tidings 
of  his  kindred,  and  carried  to  his  home  the  token  of 
his  approaching  end. 

The  Bulgar's  deep  delight  in  nature  finds  expres- 
sion in  another  class  of  charming  songs,  associated  not 
with  the  outlaw's  life,  but  with  the  everyday  domes- 
ticities. Such  are  the  songs  about  holiday  trips  made 
by  husband  and  wife  to  their  relatives,  whom,  per- 
haps, they  have  not  seen  since  their  marriage.  One  of 
the  charms  of  these  songs  is  that  the  personages  in 
them  are  sometimes  of  princely  rank.  They  are  as 
homely  in  their  preparations  for  their  jaunt  across 
country  as  any  labouring  rustics.  Even  Prince  Marko 
himself  looks  on  cheerily  while  the  wife  and  her 
servant  folk  load  the  cart  outside  with  the  necessary 
wrappings  and  refreshments.    It  is  a  revelation  of  the 

*  democratic  '  character  of  the  Bulgars.    There  are  no 

*  classes  '  among  them.  There  are  only  '  masses.' 
The  Turks  wiped  out  the  classes,  or  converted  them 
to  Mohammedanism .  If  ever  there  are  to  be  dukes  and 
marquises  in  the  peasant  czardom,  it  is  about  time  for 
His  Majesty  King  Ferdinand  to  begin.  Well,  we  have 
seen  the  husband  sauntering  about  his  cart  and  horses. 
And  now  they  have  started,  just  before  sunrise.  They 
always  do,  these  trippers,  with  their  affectionate  eye  to 
Eos  the  Rosy-fingered.  The  last  star  has  winked  it- 
self out  in  the  blue  ether.  The  morning  glow  steals 
through  the  tree-tops.    One  hears  the  wheels  clatter 


54  CZAR  FERDINAND 

in  the  depths  of  the  forest,  and  then  the  wife's  song, 
renewing  the  romance  of  their  youth. 

All  unsurpassably  idylHc.  But,  by  itself,  an  in- 
complete picture  of  the  Bulgar  character.  For  the 
Greenwood  and  her  hero-lover  sometimes  congratu- 
late each  other  on  atrocities  to  which  they  have  been 
parties.  When  Liuben  bids  farewell  to  his  *  dear 
Greenwood,'  he  boasts  of  his  exploits,  that  have  made 
countless  wives  and  children  widows  and  orphans. 
Often  does  the  ha'idouk  figure  like  a  Robin  Hood, 
relieving  the  rich  of  their  superfluous  wealth,  and 
distributing  it  among  the  poor.  To  this  end  he 
plunders  Turkish  treasure-convoys.  He  sets  Chris- 
tian prisoners  at  liberty,  after  slaying  their  Turk 
captors.  But  he  is  also  guilty  of  cruelties  such  as 
would  send  a  thrill  of  horror  through  Robin  Hood, 
with  whom  certain  writers,  such  as  M.  Dozon,  loosely 
compare  him :  for  the  heroes  of  the  lays  are  but  the 
glorified  personifications  (when  they  are  not  actual  per- 
sonages) of  the  Bulgar  people,  in  whom  tenderness  and 
ruthlessness  are  curiously  blended.  His  forest  birth, 
like  Robin  Hood's '  among  the  gilly  flowers,'  too  often 
constitutes  his  chief  or  only  claim  to  comparison  with 
the  English  outlaw.  Robin,  sings  the  English  folk-poet, 

*  Would  never  do  company  harm 
That  any  woman  was  in  * ; 

not  to  the  mistress  of  *  fair  Kirkley  Hall '  who  had 
lured  him  to  his  death, — 

'  I  never  hurt  woman  in  all  my  life, 
Nor  man  in  woman's  company.' 


BULGAR  CHARACTER  IN  FOLK-SONGS  55 

There  are  splendid  things,  enchanting  things,  in  the 
haidouk  lays,  but  you  will  find  it  hard  to  detect  in 
them  any  such  note  as  that.    Or  as  this  : — 

'  The  Percy  leaned  him  on  his  sword, 

And  saw  the  Douglas  dee, 
He  took  the  dead  man  by  the  hand 

And  said  wo  is  me  for  thee, 
To  have  saved  thy  life  I  would  have  given 

My  landes  for  years  three, 
For  a  better  man  of  heart  nor  of  hand 

Was  not  in  the  North  Countree.' 

It  is  somewhat  of  a  surprise  to  meet  in  these  lays 
with  a  wholly  chivalrous  person — chivalrous  in  the  best 
sense — like  the  young  hero  Golonese,  who,  refusing 
all  reward  for  the  rescue  of  a  stranger  lady  in  distress, 
declares  proudly  that  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by 
those  who  requested  him  to  undertake  the  business 
was  his  exceeding  great  reward.  It  may  be  pointed 
out  that  boy  heroes,  child  heroes  even,  often  supplant 
the  mature  warriors  in  the  Bulgar  folk's  affections. 
The  feats  these  youngsters  perform  are  astonishing. 
They  are  miracles  of  precocity.  They  belong  to  the 
immortal  family  of  Jack  the  Giant-Killer  and  the 
beanstalk  boy.  And  they  are  jovial,  helpful  souls. 
Again,  the  Ban  Strahinya,  one  of  the  fighters  at 
Kossovo,  behaves  like  a  chivalrous  gentleman  in  his 
treatment  of  his  wife,  who  not  only  ran  away  with  the 
Turk,  but  who,  with  her  paramour,  conspired  to  put 
him  to  death.  Her  virtuous  relatives  seriously  offered 
to  slice  her  in  pieces,  and  got  their  knives  ready  for 


56  CZAR  FERDINAND 

the  operation.    But,  as  already  indicated,  such  mani- 
festations of  the  chivalrous  spirit  are  exceptional. 
One  hero  murders  his  lady-love  and  benefactress 
because  his  boon  companions  make  sport  of  him  for 
some  flaw  in  her  comeliness.    Another  because  she 
refuses  to  marry  him.    And  sometimes  the  hero's 
fond  mother  gently  remonstrates  with  him  for  his 
crime,  on  the  ground  that  the  victim  would  have  been 
useful  as  a  housemaid.    The  rank  and  file  naturally 
are  not  morally  superior  to  the  heroes  they  admire, 
and  celebrate  in  their  village  songs.    A  British  wife- 
kicker  is  mildness  itself  in  comparison  with  many 
an  atrocious  offender  painted  in  ballads  of  Bulgar 
domestic  interiors.    The  professional  stroller,  with 
a  crowd  round  about  him  beside  the  village  well,  or 
under  the  village  tree,  sings — sings,  remember — how  a 
model  husband   devised  a  hideous,  unmentionable 
form  of  death  for  his  wife  because  she  bore  no  chil- 
dren, and  how  he  invited  the  neighbours  to  call  for 
the   occasion.    Even   though   the   horrors   sung   or 
recited  be  imaginary,  they  are  an  indication  of  the 
morale  of  the  race  at  a  low  stage  of  its  development. 
But  let  us  weigh  the  matter.    In  the  first  place,  it  is 
a  primitive  stage,  though  represented  in  songs  trans- 
mitted to  modern  times.    In  the  second  place,  the 
existence  of  these  repellent  ballads  leaves  undimin- 
ished the  lustre  of  the  heroic  lays,  and  the  beauty  of 
the  nature  songs,  the  joyousness  of  the  festival  songs, 
and  the  profound  pathos  of  the  songs  on  death  and 
the  other  world.    The  emotions,  passions,  and  ideas 


BULGAR  CHARACTER  IN  FOLK-SONGS  57 

of  the  mind  of  the  race  of  which  this  poesy  is  the 
exhalation  are  in  a  state  of  unstable  equilibrium.  Or 
they  are  as  chemical  ingredients  that  have  not  yet 
coalesced — like  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen  in  water. 
They  are  the  spiritual  analogue  to  the  separatist 
anarchy  in  politics  that  gave  the  Turk  his  chance. 
But  the  evil  ingredients  are  being  thrown  off.  And 
perhaps  the  Bulgars  are  pretty  much  like  other 
people.  In  the  European  soul — not  to  specify  any 
one  national  incarnation  of  it — '  the  ape  and  the  tiger  * 
still  have  comfortable  room  for  themselves.  Instead 
of  throwing  them  out,  we  let  them  *  die  out.' 

And  if  we  go  back  a  few  centuries  in  our  own  his- 
tory, with  some  splendid  *  Minstrelsy  '  for  guidance — 
particularly  the  minstrelsy  of  the  romantic  Anglo- 
Scottish  Border — ^we  shall  find  many  a  compeer  of 
the  gallant  ones  who  murder  and  pillage  all  through 
the  Bulgar  epos.  Such  was  Edom  o'  Gordon,  who, 
having  nothing  better  to  do,  raided  Rodes  Castle  while 
its  master  was  absent,  and  because  its  lady  refused  to 
yield  to  his  commands — criminal  as  well  as  merely 
predatory — burnt  her  and  her  children  alive.  Or 
Lamkin,  the  mason — *  as  good  a  mason  As  ever  hewed 
a  stane' — ^who  with  the  connivance  of  the  nurse — 
*  a  fause  limmer  As  e'er  hung  on  a  tree  ' — slew  Lady 
Weare  and  her  infant,  because  his  wages  were  in 
arrears.  Or  the  brother-in-law  in  *  The  Banks  of 
Yarrow,'  who,  having  to  fight  a  duel  with  his  sister's 
husband,  hid  nine  assassins  in  ambush,  and  with  their 
assistance  killed  him.    Such  were  the  seven  foresters 


S8  CZAR  FERDINAND 

who  slew  *  Johnnie  o*  Braidislee ' ;  and  the  three 
*  fause  Ha's  *  who  massacred  Parcy  Reed,  their  com- 
rade in  a  hunting  trip.  The  three  Halls  did  it  exactly 
in  the  manner  often  described  by  the  Bulgar  folk- 
poets  : 

*  They  Ve  stown  the  bridle  aff  his  steed, 

And  they  Ve  put  some  water  in  his  lang  gun  ; 
They  Ve  fixed  his  sword  within  his  sheath, 
That  out  again  it  winna  come.' 

These  songs  of  war,  love,  adventure,  social  custom, 
and  the  domestic  hearth  are  a  curious  record  of  mental 
furnishings  acquired  in  the  career  of  the  race.  Their 
childish  cosmogony,  their  nightmare  monstrosities 
belong  to  the  crudest  period  of  *  primitive  culture  ' 
— ^to  borrow  Sir  E.  B.  Tylor's  expression.  Spiritual 
luggage,  perhaps  reminiscent  of  the  cradle  of  the  race 
in  Tartary,  or  of  their  Scythian  wanderings.  When, 
after  reaching  Europe,  the  Bulgars  became  converts 
to  the  Byzantine  Church,  one  could  not  always  tell 
exactly  whether  Elias  and  the  other  saints  whom  they 
borrowed  were  Christians  or  pagans  :  the  Virgin  her- 
self became  a  co-partner — not  always  a  directing  one 
— ^with  the  pagan  gods.  Elias  became  a  Graeco- 
Tartar  Zeus — a  character  which  has  recently  sug- 
gested to  the  Bulgarian  airmen  the  idea  of  making 
him  their  patron  saint.  Next  neighbours  to  the 
Greeks,  they  *  lifted  '  a  good  many  of  their  myths  : 
and  Bulgar  deities  could  cheat  and  lie  with  the 
best  of  Homer's  immortals.  Orpheus  was  their 
favourite — naturally,  for  the  Orphic  Hebrus  is  the 


BULGAR  CHARACTER  IN  FOLK-SONGS  59 

Bulgar-Thracian  river  Maritza  now  famed  in  the 
wars.  Never  does  a  Bulgar  hero  in  his  wanderings 
play,  or  sing,  but  the  trees  bend  their  heads,  and  the 
wild  creatures  of  the  woods  follow  him.  The  Bulgar 's 
superhuman  beings  are  more  vulnerable  than  the 
Greek's  :  when  Vukashin  thrusts  at  his  son  Marko, 
who  has  taken  refuge  behind  a  church  screen,  the 
father  discovers  that  he  has  stabbed  an  angel — ^who 
forthwith  bleeds  profusely.  No  less  materialistic  are 
the  notions  of  the  unseen  world,  as  in  the  quaint 
songs,  in  which  messages  to  those  who  have  gone 
before,  about  the  harvest,  about  the  family  fortunes 
good  or  bad,  about  children  grown  up — since  then — 
are  committed  to  the  dying.  Or  in  songs  of  death  in 
youth,  and  the  departing  soul  lamenting  her  fate,  as 
Hector's  before  the  Scaean  gates : 

*  ov  TroTjxov  yo6(t)ara,  Xnrovor  dBpoTrJTa  koI  rj^r^v/ 

Or  in  the  song  of  the  mother,  sad  and  blind  in 
Hades,  *  as  she  was  in  this  world,'  but  who  *  will 
remember  thee  and  rejoice  when  she  hears  thy  voice.' 

It  is  a  subject  as  vast  as  it  is  fascinating,  but  the 
foregoing  outline  may  afford  a  general  idea  of  the 
Bulgar  temperament  and  character. 

As  remarked  in  an  earlier  page,  many  writers  have 
adopted  the  hero  Marko  of  the  folk-songs  as  the 
typical  Bulgar.  Other  writers  reject  the  Bulgarian 
claim  to  the  monopoly  of  him.  But  the  fact  that  he 
was  the  son  of  a  Servian  king  does  not  affect  the  real 
point  at  issue,  which  is,  that  the  Bulgar  bards  and 


6o  CZAR  FERDINAND 

people,  in  appropriating  him,  attributing  to  him 
virtues  and  achievements  that  may  not  have  been  real, 
ever  keeping  him  in  their  mind's  eye,  created  a  Prince 
Marko  in  their  own  image .^  The  Servian  folk-poets, 
of  course,  appropriated  him.  And  it  is  interesting  to 
observe  how  the  two  creations  differ.  The  rougher, 
ruder  Bulgar  hero  and  the  more  refined  Serb  hero 
differ  precisely  as  their  respective  races. 

^  *Das  bulgarische  Vol k  hat  dieicn  seinen  Nationalhelden  ganz  nach  seinem 
Bildc  geschaffcn.  Wer  den  Marko  des  Epos  characterisiert,  dcr  charactcr- 
isicrt  zuglcich  das  bulgarische  Volk.  .  .  .  Was  den  Character  Marko's 
anbelangt,  so  konnen  wir  getrost  sagen,  dass  dieser  die  getreue  Copie  des 
Characters  des  bulgarischen  Volkes  ist'  (Strausz's  Bulgarische  Volksdichtungen). 


VIII 

MARKO  AS  THE  TYPICAL  BULGAR 

Of  the  countless  ballads  on  Prince  Marko,  many  of 
them  containing  hundreds  of  lines,  and  which  are 
sung  and  recited  among  Czar  Ferdinand's  subjects  to 
this  day,  only  the  shortest  account  is  here  possible, 
and  that  only  as  an  indication  of  the  national  char- 
acter.   The  national  hero  is  a  compound  of  strength 
and  weakness,  tenderness  and  brutality.    He  can  put 
forth  enormous  energy  in  the  service  of  humanity,  and 
loves  his  ease — especially  in  *  mine  inn.'    He  is  the 
most  arrant  toper  in  South  Slavic  story.    Sometimes, 
when  his  oppressed  countrymen  need  his  aid,  they 
have  to  hunt  him  up  in  a  wine  shop.    His  sensi- 
tiveness to  music  and  to  natural  beauty  is,  we  have 
already  shown,  a  national  trait.    He  is  kind  to  the 
lower  animals,  and  to  his  *  brothers,'  the  birds  of  the 
mountains  and  the  forests,  who  relieve  him  in  his 
sore  distress,  as  he  does  them.    In  one  of  the  songs 
he  rescues  a  wild  bird  sitting  aloft,  guarding  her 
young,  although  the  flames  of  the  tree  set  on  fire 
during  a  battle  have  already  scorched   her  wings. 
He  takes  the  wounded  bird  home  to  his  mother, 
Euphrosyne,  the  gentlest,  most  radiant  personage  in 
Bulgar  folk-poesy.    Marko 's  worship  of  his  mother  is 
the  finest  trait  in  his  character.    He  kisses  the  fore- 
head of  his  horse  Sarac,  after  or  before  his  pursuit  of 

ei 


62  CZAR  FERDINAND 

an  enemy,  now  a  mortal,  now  a  superhuman  being. 
He  chides  a  friend's  ill  usage  of  a  horse,  because,  says 
he,  the  poor  creature  is  not  morally  responsible.  He 
is  capable  of  romantic  friendship.  When,  through 
any  unintentional  fault  of  his,  his  friend  suffers 
disaster,  his  grief  and  remorse  are  inconsolable.  Yet 
this  tender-hearted  hero  knocks  out  a  princess's  teeth 
by  way  of  retaliation  for  an  imaginary  offence  on  her 
prince's  part,  and  urges  his  steed — the  aforesaid  Sarac 
— to  trample  upon  her.  He  is  guilty  of  many  brutal- 
ities as  heinous.  In  a  ballad  of  great  poetic  beauty 
he  treacherously  slays  the  Croatian  Star-Maiden,  a 
heroine  who,  instead  of  promising  to  marry  him, 
made  light  mockery  of  him.  On  the  entreaty  of  the 
Greek  Emperor  of  Constantinople  he  goes  crusading 
against  the  *  Black  Arabs  '  (the  Turks)  in  Anatolia,  is 
captured,  is  imprisoned  for  many  years  in  the  Turkish 
emir's  dungeon.  The  Turk's  daughter  falls  in  love 
with  him,  and  he  with  her.  Secretly  she  conveys 
meat  and  drink  to  the  starveling  captive.  She  plans 
his  escape.  He  promises  her  a  happy  life  in  '  the 
Bulgar  land.'  They  take  to  flight.  And  in  the 
Bulgar  land  the  unstable  lover,  wearying  of  her,  gets 
his  people  to  kill  her.  Wandering,  knight-errant 
wise,  over  the  Balkans  from  Albania  to  the  Euxine, 
from  the  Danube  to  the  iEgean,  he  sets  free  Chris- 
tian slaves,  and  slaughters  their  oppressors  ;  he  feeds 
and  clothes  the  hungry,  and  divides  his  money  among 
them.  He  singes  the  Turkish  Sultan's  beard,  as  no 
Christian  dog  had  ever  done  before,  or  has  done 


MARKO  AS  THE  TYPICAL  BULGAR    63 

since.  And  he  does  it  in  the  Sultan's  own  palace  in 
Stamboul — by  anachronism,  for  Constantinople  was 
first  occupied  by  the  Turks  sixty  years  after  Marko's 
death.  The  Sultan  had  prohibited  the  Christians 
from  wearing  green,  and  Marko  went  clothed  in  green 
for  an  interview  with  the  Sultan.  He  cut  off  the  head 
of  a  *  Black  Arab  '  who  had  been  told  off  to  assassinate 
him,  and  threw  it  at  the  Sultan's  feet.  And  the 
Sultan  so  admired  his  bravery  that  he  made  him  a 
present  of  the  town  of  Uskub  in  Macedonia — another 
instance  of  anachronism.  Yet  this  Christian  hero 
served  with  the  Turks  in  their  wars  against  the 
Christians. 

But  the  contradiction  is  more  attributable  to  the 
anarchy  of  the  age  than  to  any  perversity  in  the 
Bulgar  hero.  The  Christian  chiefs,  at  internecine 
strife,  sometimes  found  the  Sultan,  now  installed  in 
Adrianople,  a  more  trustworthy  ally  than  the  Emperor 
in  Constantinople.  Robbed  of  his  patrimony  in  his 
native  Servia,  Marko  went  over  to  the  Turks.  Though 
so  many  of  the  tales  concerning  him  are  legendary,  it 
seems  certain  that  he  fought  on  the  Turkish  side  at 
the  battle  of  Kossovo.  However,  his  principal  role 
is  that  of  a  Christian  liberator.  In  the  lays  of  his 
adventures  there  are  many  episodes  of  rare  poetic 
beauty — as  in  the  imagining  of  his  ride  through  the 
heavens,  with  the  swiftness  of  the  Valkyries,  on  his 
magical  horse,  Sarac,  in  pursuit  of  the  Vila  who  had 
struck  down  his  comrade,  Milosh,  and  whom  he  over- 
took and  hurled  to  earth.    The  tale  of  his  taming  the 


64  CZAR  FERDINAND 

colt,  Sarac — how  the  colt  reared  and  bucked  and 
galloped  wildly  about  in  the  vain  attempt  to  pitch  him 
off,  and  how  Sarac  took  a  swim  in  the  sea  that  he 
might  drown  him — is  vigorously  realistic.  Having 
got  the  better  of  Sarac,  he  takes  him  off  to  be  shod  at 
a  blacksmith's  in  Salonika,  where  he  refreshes  himself 
in  his  customary  Falstaffian  manner,  whilst  the  black- 
smith is  occupied  with  an  immediately  pressing  en- 
gagement. The  ballad  says  that  the  blacksmith's 
shop  was  in  '  the  long  street.'  That  must  mean 
Vardar  Street,  which  presents  to-day  pretty  much  the 
appearance  it  did  centuries  ago.  Many  a  Bulgarian 
soldier  lately  strolling  in  Vardar  Street  could  recite 
the  legend.  Nor  would  it  be  difficult  for  him  to 
find  a  farrier's  smithy  recalling  the  folk-bard's 
picture. 

He  is,  on  the  whole,  a  most  genial  soul,  this 
*  image  of  the  Bulgarian  people.'  A  mediaeval  Kipling 
could  write  a  charming  tale  about  him  and  his  two 
cronies,  Milosh  and  Milan — '  soldiers  three  ' — saun- 
tering through  the  forest  where  the  *  Black  Arab  ' 
lurked,  spinning  heroic  yarns,  striking  up  a  song. 
Marko  was  killed  in  battle  in  1392,  three  years  after 
Kossovo.  He  was  on  the  Turkish  side,  but  with  a 
heavy  heart,  according  to  the  legend — wherein  it  is 
related  that  he  prayed  God  for  victory  to  the  Chris- 
tians or  death  for  himself.  Some  said  he  died  in  the 
battle.  The  peasants  believed  that  the  Vilas  carried 
him  away  to  a  mountain  cave,  and  that  there  he  was 
not  dead  but  asleep  ;  that  his  horse,  Sarac,  browsed  on 


MARKO  AS  THE  TYPICAL  BULGAR    65 

the  moss  in  the  cave,  that  his  sword  was  stuck  in  the 
roof  up  to  the  hilt — but  that  the  sword  was  imper- 
ceptibly extricating  itself  as  the  centuries  passed 
away,  and  that  at  the  sound  of  its  fall  the  hero  would 
start  up,  mount  Sarac,  and  sally  forth  to  free  the 
land  from  the  Turk. 


IX 

NURSING  THE  VITAL  SPARK 

For  nearly  five  hundred  years,  counting  from  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  Bulgarian 
people,  as  a  people,  were  non-existent.  There  were 
only  the  comminuted  fragments  of  what  once  was 
a  people,  growing  more  localised,  more  isolated,  as 
the  years  passed,  and  developing  linguistic  varieties, 
which  Czar  Ferdinand's  educationists,  with  the  King's 
sympathy  and  encouragement,  have  during  the  last 
twenty  years  been  welding  into  a  literary,  national 
speech. 

As  already  said,  the  sentiment  of  a  common  race 
was  kept  alive  in  the  monasteries,  which  became 
exceedingly  numerous  in  Bulgaria  in  and  after  the 
eleventh  century,  and  by  the  folk-poets,  with  their 
lays  on  the  wars  with  the  Greeks  and  the  Turks,  and 
the  strife  between  Cross  and  Crescent,  which  could 
only  be  ended  by  the  expulsion  of  one  or  the  other. 
To  the  monk's  share  in  maintaining  the  racial  senti- 
ment we  shall  refer  more  at  length  in  an  account  of 
the  monastery  of  Mount  Rilo  and  Czar  Ferdinand's 
visits  to  the  spot.  The  tchorbadji^s  share  in  it  may 
now  be  mentioned.  The  Christian  tchorhadji  is  the 
village  or  district  notable.  Because  of  his  means  and 
of  his  social  position  he  was  the  chosen  intermediary 


NURSING  THE  VITAL  SPARK  67 

between  his  brethren,  the  Christian  '  herd '  (ray ah) y 
and  the  local  Turkish  governor.  He  had  to  see, 
usually  at  his  own  risk-r-a  serious  one  when  the 
governor  chanced  to  be  exceptionally  avaricious — to 
the  punctual  payment  of  the  taxes.  If  the  ray  ah  had 
any  complaint  or  petition  to  make,  they  made  it 
through  their  tchorhadji.  This  official  was  supposed 
to  know  the  exact  circumstances  and  tribute-paying 
capacity  of  every  one  of  his  co-religionists.  The 
delicacy  and  the  peril  of  his  position  may  readily  be 
understood.  A  weak,  or  selfish,  or  ambitious  tchor- 
hadji was  always  tempted  to  sacrifice  his  people  *s 
interests  to  the  Turkish  governor's  whenever  these 
came  into  collision.  And  in  the  popular  poetry  of 
the  Bulgars — ^which,  let  it  be  repeated,  is  the  true 
history  of  the  Bulgarian  people  during  the  ages  of  the 
Turkish  oppression — there  are  numerous  instances 
of  tchorhadji  infidelity  to  the  Christian  side  of  the 
trust ;  and  in  the  Servian  ballads  as  well.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  Christian  official,  if  a  tactful  man, 
had  it  in  his  power  to  mitigate  his  co-religionists'  lot ; 
and  the  songs  show  that  he  did  it,  even  when  he 
seemed  (but  only  seemed)  to  fall  in  with  the  Turk's 
wishes.  He  might  be  able  to  do  it  all  the  more  easily 
if  he  and  the  Turk  were — as  often  happened — bound 
to  each  other  as '  Brothers,'  in  the  form  of  a  chivalrous 
union  existing  among  the  Southern  Slavs,  by  which 
persons  unrelated  by  blood  became  '  brothers '  or 
*  sisters,'  or  '  brothers  and  sisters,'  consecrated  to 
their  mutual  service.    In  the  Slavic  ballads  there  is 


68  CZAR  FERDINAND 

no  character  more  beautifully  heroic  than  the  sworn 
*  brother '  or  *  sister  * '  in  God.' 

But  whatever  else  he  may  have  done,  the  tchor- 
hadji  was  the  literary,  and  political  monk's  co-worker, 
and  the  bard's  and  the  haidouk's,  in  keeping  alive 
the  suppressed  flame  of  race  sentiment.  The  writer 
had  the  privilege  of  acquaintance  with  men  of  his 
class  during  part  of  the  sanguinary,  miserable  period 
in  Bulgaria  and  Macedonia  preceding  the  Young 
Turk  revolution.  One  of  them  was  a  first-rate  reciter 
of  heroic  ballads,  and  open-handed  friend  of  the 
comitajis — the  modern  representatives  of  the  old-time 
hatdouks — many  of  whom  were  just  then  on  the  war- 
path, in  Mount  Pirin  and  the  Rhodope.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  exaggerate  the  effect  of  these  domestic 
entertainments  upon  a  people  among  whom  it  was 
customary  (particularly  with  the  Serbs)  for  the  host 
and  his  guests  to  sing  or  recite  in  turn.  During  the 
Servian  outbreaks  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  authorities — so  it  is  recorded — deemed 
it  prudent  to  prohibit  recitations,  at  least  in  public, 
on  the  ground  that  they  filled  too  many  young  men, 
who  might  in  other  wise  serve  their  country,  with  a 
thirst  for  the  guerilla  life.  Yet,  in  truth,  the  *  apostles ' 
of  the  Bulgar  idea  could  leave  no  means  of  propagand- 
ism  untried.  It  is  matter  for  surprise  that  the  popular 
spirit  survived  at  all.  An  attempted  insurrection  in 
the  last  years  of  the  sixteenth  century  ended  in  the 
slaughter  of  large  numbers,  and  the  flight  of  many 
others  into  Roumania.    The  lot  of  the  Bulgar  ray  ah 


NURSING  THE  VITAL  SPARK  69 

grew  harder,  and  ever  harder,  as  time  passed — and 
that,  in  the  main,  for  reasons  that  were  as  creditable 
to  the  early  sultans  as  discreditable  to  their  successors. 
The  early  sultans  took  an  active  part  in  the  govern- 
ment of  their  dominions,  and  saw  to  it  that  justice  (of 
a  rough  sort,  no  doubt,  to  modern  notions)  was  done. 
But  their  indolent  successors,  in  abandoning  the 
routine  of  government  to  local  administrators,  sub- 
jected the  people  to  a  tyranny  as  merciless  as  it  was 
irresponsible.  Between  Turkish  oppression,  oppres- 
sion by  the  Orthodox  Church,  flight  of  persecuted 
ray  ah,  and  the  immigration  of  Anatolians,  Kurds, 
Circassians,  and  Albanians  to  replace  the  runaways 
and  seize  their  property,  the  Bulgar  population  might 
have  been  well-nigh  exterminated.  The  policy  of 
extermination  was  tried  in  the  later  years  of  Abdul 
Hamid's  reign.  It  found  favour  among  the  ex- 
tremists of  the  Young  Turk  party.  Shortly  after  the 
decisive  defeat  of  the  Turks  before  Vienna  in  1683, 
there  was  a  very  considerable  retreat  of  the  Bulgar 
peasantry  to  the  northern  side  of  the  Danube.  Irri- 
tated by  their  recent  failure,  the  Turks  became  more 
severe  in  dealing  with  disaffection.  The  Bulgars — in 
fact,  all  the  Slavic  population  of  the  Balkans — would 
have  rejoiced  in  annexation  by  Russia.  But  for 
Napoleon's  jealousy  of  Russia  that  solution  of  the 
Balkan  question  would  in  all  probability  have  been 
effected. 

As  to  the  Orthodox  attempt  to  destroy  the  Bulgar 
name  and  nationality,  only  a  few  brief  particulars  may 


70  CZAR  FERDINAND 

be  added  to  what  has  been  recorded  in  an  earlier  page.^ 
The  mediaeval  Bulgarian  czars  had  liberally  endowed 
their  national  conventual  houses  at  Mount  Athos.  In 
these  houses  were  stored  vast  numbers  of  documents 
on  the  history  of  the  race,  written  in  the  Slavic 
language.  It  would  be  a  marvel  if  they  did  not  con- 
tain abundance  of  the  sterile,  logomachic  stuff,  the 
burning  of  which,  in  the  Alexandrian  library,  was 
regarded  by  Gibbon  as  a  praiseworthy  act.  But  they 
also  contained  much  that  historians  in  a  future  age 
would  have  found  extremely  useful.  The  Orthodox 
patriarchs  and  their  bishops,  supreme  at  Athos, 
destroyed  quantities  of  Bulgar  records  kept  in  the 
monasteries.  Early  in  the  nineteenth  century 
Joachim,  Orthodox  Bishop  of  Sofia,  carried  out  a 
similar  visitation  in  his  diocese.  A  collection  of 
Bulgarian  MSS.  discovered  at  Tirnovo,  the  ancient, 
venerated,  beautiful  capital  of  czars,  was  about  the 
same  period  destroyed  by  the  metropolitan  of  the 
district.  No  one  knows  what  valuable  material  it 
might  have  contained.  As  M.  Bousquet^  remarks, 
it  was  an  unprecedented  act  of  vandalism,  meant  to 
destroy  the  very  soul  of  a  people.  It  was  an  Orthodox 
bishop  who,  during  the  Russo-Turkish  troubles  of 
1828-9,  gave  the  Turks  timely  warning  of  an  intended 
rising  in  the  Great  Balkan.  The  civilised  Greek  and 
the  barbarous  Turk  were  colleagues  in  the  attempt 
to  destroy  Bulgarian  nationality. 

And  to  the  two  associates — now  separated  for  ever 

^  Page  4.  2  Histoire  du  Peuple  Bulgare,  1909. 


NURSING  THE  VITAL  SPARK  71 

— it  did  seem  as  if  they  had  succeeded  in  breaking  the 
dour,  silent,  obstinate  Bulgarian  spirit.    The  number 
of   Bulgarians  who  during  the  larger  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  took  refuge  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Danube  must  have  largely  exceeded  that  of  the 
Macedonians — estimated  at  over  three  hundred  thou- 
sand— ^who  flocked  into  the  Principality  from  1880 
onwards.     Stambouloff  himself — ^who  tried  to  rule 
Prince  Ferdinand,  and  came  to  grief  in  the  effort — 
sometimes  despaired  of  his  people's  future.    That 
was  in  his  earlier  days,  when  he  organised  and  led 
bands  of  conspirators.    The  Bulgarian  rustics'  appar- 
ent indifference  astonished  him,  threw  him  into  fits 
of  depression.    Even  the  Macedonians  he  denounced 
as   worse   than   lukewarm — '  treacherous.'    Yet  the 
spirit  of  new  Bulgaria  was  all  the  while  in  a  state  of 
incubation.    And  the  Turks  had  driven  the  rebellious 
spirit  outwards  as  well  as  inwards.    The  refugees 
in    Bessarabia,    at    Bucharest,  at  Odessa,  Moscow, 
St.  Petersburg,  and  elsewhere  were  the  people  who 
would  apply  the  match  to  the  gunpowder  mine  upon 
which  the  Turk,  in  the  years  preceding  Alexander 
the  Second's  war,  trod  securely.    There 's  nothing 
quieter,  some  one  has  said,  than  a  powder  barrel  a 
moment  or  two  before  the  explosion.    In  taking  its 
revolutionary  impulse  from  abroad,  the  Bulgarians 
were    following    precedent.    Revolutionary    Greece 
was  influenced  to  a  large  extent  by  Servia,  where  she 
had  active  sympathisers.    And  Bulgaria,  in  her  turn, 
influenced     desponding     Macedonia.     During     the 


72  CZAR  FERDINAND 

twenty  years  following  the  Crimean  War,  the  pat- 
riots abroad,  in  their  secret  clubs  and  committees, 
organised  the  Herzegovinian  rising,  which  led  to  the 
Bulgarian  agitation  and  the  despatch  of  the  Zankoff- 
Balabanoff  mission  to  the  European  chancelleries.  The 
mission  was  an  intimation  to  Europe  that  a  Bulgarian 
people  was  in  existence,  and  would  have  some  day  to 
be  reckoned  with.  The  deputies  denied  that  *  Bul- 
garian slavery  was  necessary  to  the  peace  and  the 
progress  of  Europe.'  *  Our  people,'  they  said,  *  are 
numerous,  have  capacity  for  intellectual,  moral,  and 
social  progress,  and  an  independent  life.'  They 
demanded  autonomy.  The  result  was  the  Constan- 
tinople Conference. 

The  mission  was  interesting,  in  the  first  place,  as 
a  direct,  personal  appeal  to  Europe  of  a  people  who 
less  than  half  a  century  earlier  were  scarcely  known 
to  exist ;  and  secondly,  as  an  unconscious  step  to  the 
final  assumption  of  the  policy  of  self-help  through 
which  a  future  Prince  Ferdinand  ^  was  destined  to 
save  the  Bulgarian  state,  and  to  the  Balkan  Alliance 
which  has  liberated  all  but  a  small  remnant  of  the 
Turkish  Empire  in  Europe.  At  the  conference  the 
new  policy  was  partly  defeated  by  the  old  diplomacy, 
with  its  imbecile  '  principle  '  of  the  *  integrity  '  of  an 
incurable  Power  in  a  state  of  chronic  spoliation  by  its 
self-appointed  guardians. 

The  moral  of  Bulgarian  history  since  Prince 
Alexander's  advent  and  Prince  Ferdinand's  is  that 

^  Prince  Ferdinand  was  at  this  time  in  his  fifteenth  year. 


CZAR    FERDINAND    IN    NATIONAL    COSTUME 


NURSING  THE  VITAL  SPARK  73 

the  conferential  plan  of  two  *  autonomous  *  Bulgarian 
provinces,  under  Christian  governors  appointed  by 
the  Sultan  and  approved  by  the  Great  Powers,  with 
a  gendarmerie  and  local  representative  councils, 
would  not  have  long  delayed  an  insurrection  for 
national  union.  However  that  might  have  been,  the 
plan  was  outflanked  by  Midhat's  Constitution,  which 
was  in  its  turn  shelved  by  the  Sultan  as  soon  as  the 
plan  was  dead  and  buried. 

The  sequel  is  too  well  known  to  require  more  than 
a  summary  of  a  few  lines  by  way  of  connection  in  this 
narrative.  Russia,  irritated  by  the  constitutional 
sham  (whose  repetition,  thirty-two  years  later,  has 
caused  the  downfall  of  European  Turkey),  declared 
war.  The  war  ended  in  the  Russo-Turkish  Treaty  of 
San  Stefano,  which  created  a  Greater  Bulgaria  nearly 
identical  with  the  mediaeval  empire.  With  '  Peter's 
dream  '  in  their  minds,  and  resolved  to  prevent 
Bulgaria  from  becoming  a  Russian  protectorate,  the 
Powers  in  July  1878  substituted  for  the  San  Stefano 
Treaty  the  Berlin  Treaty,  which  placed  Northern 
Bulgaria  and  Eastern  Roumelia  under  separate  gov- 
ernments, and  restored  Macedonia  to  the  Turk — with 
another  imbecility,  an  incredible  one,  in  the  form  of 
a  friendly  admonition  to  the  Turk  to  be  kind  to  the 
ray  ah.  Russia  accepted  the  task  of  provisional 
administrator.  The  repair  and  reconstruction  of  the 
Bulgarian  edifice  after  the  Turk's  departure  pro- 
ceeded with  most  commendable  rapidity.  Police, 
military,  judicial,  financial,  fiscal  reforms  were  intro- 


74  CZAR  FERDINAND 

duced.  Generous,  maternal  Russia  lent  her  officers — 
hundreds  of  them — to  create  the  first  Bulgarian  army, 
and  they  had  not  been  long  at  work  before  they  learnt 
they  had  first-rate  raw  material  to  work  upon.  Indeed, 
they  might  have  learnt  it  during  the  war,  when  those 
uncouth  Bulgar  peasants,  in  their  cowhide  sandals  and 
sheepskin  coats,  volunteered  for  the  Russian  ranks. 
In  eight  months  a  Constituent  Assembly  drew  up  the 
first  scheme  of  a  Bulgarian  Constitution,  for  which  a 
more  democratic  one,  based  on  universal  suffrage, 
was  immediately  substituted.  At  this  assembly  all 
classes  and  '  interests  '  were  represented.  Bulgarians 
journeyed  from  distant  lands  to  take  their  places  in  it, 
and  many  a  comitaji  leader  who  had  fought  the  Turk 
in-  the  Old  Balkan  and  the  Greenwood.  The  Bul- 
garian monasteries — silent,  patient  nurses  of  the  spirit 
of  the  race  during  the  Turkish  oppression — had  their 
representatives  there.  And  in  the  multitude  of  these 
representatives  of  the  new  state  there  were  Turkish 
delegates — among  them  a  doctor  of  the  law  of  Islam. 
This  took  place  in  Tirnovo,  the  old  capital — at  whose 
name  a  chord  in  every  Bulgarian  heart  responds — in 
the  spring  of  1879,  four  hundred  and  eighty-six  years 
after  the  Turks  captured  the  city. 


X 

FIRST  GREAT  RENT  IN  THE  BERLIN  TREATY 

A  FEW  months  later  Prince  Alexander  of  Battenberg, 
unanimously  chosen,  '  with  loud  acclamations/  by 
the  national  representatives,  reigned  in  Sofia,  and  the 
peasant  state  started  on  its  wonderful  career. 

Prince  Alexander  was  Russia's  nominee.  He 
became  her  victim.  For  during  the  larger  part  of 
his  seven  years'  reign  he  was  acting  in  opposition  to 
her  plans  of  supremacy  over  the  newly  liberated 
territories.  Yet  he  steadily  proclaimed  his  loyalty 
to  the  Russian  Czar,  and  at  the  crisis  of  his  career, 
when  the  fate  of  Bulgaria  trembled  in  the  balance,  he 
carried  his  subservience  to  the  point  of  abject  humilia- 
tion. Prince  Alexander's  career  interests  us  for  its 
effect — unconsidered  by  him,  at  least  in  its  earlier 
stages — in  emphasising  the  nascent  spirit  of  independ- 
ence and  self-assertion  among  his  subjects.  It  was  an 
illustration  of  the  futility  of  verbal  logic  contending 
with  the  logic  of  things,  la  force  des  choses.  It  was 
under  the  headstrong,  inconsequent,  though  amiable 
and  fascinating  Prince  Alexander  that  Bulgaria 
achieved  her  first  great  feat  in  European  politics — 
namely,  her  first  breach  in  the  treaty  to  which  she  owed 
her  existence  as  a  state .  Alike  under  Prince  Ferdinand 
and  his  predecessor,  Bulgaria  has  grown  by  repeated 
violations   of  it.    The  methods  of  the  two   rulers 

76 


76  CZAR  FERDINAND 

differed,  but  the  great  end — the  Hberation  of  Bulgaria 
from  control  by  the  Power  to  which  she  owed  her 
existence — was  the  same.  In  the  struggle  for  release 
from  the  Russian  shackles,  the  aspiration  of  the  race 
determined  the  rulers'  diplomacy.  A  brief  sketch 
of  the  internal  dissensions  within  the  newly  born 
Principality  and  of  the  conflict  with  Russia  will  ex- 
plain the  nature  and  extent  of  the  task  which  the  far 
more  capable,  experienced,  accomplished,  and  pru- 
dent Prince  Ferdinand  inherited  from  his  unlucky 
predecessor. 

Lovable  and  brave  though  Prince  Alexander  was 
(he  gave  abundant  proofs  of  his  personal  courage  in 
his  short  campaign  against  Servia),  his  prejudices,  no 
less  than  his  youth  (he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age 
at  his  accession)  and  imperfect  education,  disqualified 
him  to  a  serious  extent  for  the  role  of  ruler  over  a 
democratic  state.  His  education  was  mainly  military 
— nor  thorough  even  at  that,  for  he  was  but  a  lieu- 
tenant when  he  became  Prince  of  Bulgaria.  Imbued 
with  the  narrow  notions  of  a  small  German  court, 
he  had  no  love  for  parliamentary  institutions.  He 
abhorred  anything  savouring  of  demagogy.  His  first 
Parliament,  elected  in  October  1879,  he  abruptly 
dismissed,  after  it  had  lived  a  five  or  six  weeks*  exist- 
ence of  noisy  quarrelling  between  Liberals,  Radi- 
cals, and  Conservatives,  principally  on  the  question 
of  Eastern  Roumelia.  The  Radicals  were  in  active 
sympathy  with  the  Roumeliotes,  who  were  agitating, 
in  an  orderly  manner,  for  union  with  the  Principality. 


FIRST  GREAT  RENT  IN  BERLIN  TREATY  77 

The  Conservatives  discouraged  a  movement  which 
they  considered  premature,  even  if  laudable.  Their 
attitude  pleased  Russia.  Yet  Russia  at  San  Stefano 
had  carved  out,  on  paper,  a  Great  Bulgaria,  including 
Eastern  Roumelia  and  Macedonia.  But  since  then 
Bulgaria  had  shown  signs  of  *  ingratitude  ' — of  an 
independent  spirit  not  to  be  encouraged  in  a  country 
meant  to  be  a  strategic  outpost  of  Holy  Russia.  So 
Russia  denounced  the  new  Bulgarian  ambition,  stood 
up  for  fidelity  to  the  Berlin  Treaty,  to  which  she  had 
unwillingly  submitted,  as  an  injustice  to  herself. 

This  arbitrary  act  of  dissolution  was  his  first  mis- 
take. The  Russian  party  in  the  Chamber,  and  their 
allies  in  St.  Petersburg,  rather  spoiled  him  with 
flattering  his  strength  of  will.  He  threatened  to 
dismiss  the  next  assembly,  and  even  to  suspend  free 
discussion  in  the  press  and  on  the  platform ;  but  he 
abandoned  this  Caesarean  project  only  to  improve 
upon  it  early  in  1881,  the  third  year  of  his  reign, 
by  suspending  the  Constitution  and  substituting  for  it 
a  Septennate,  with  a  small  council  in  place  of  the 
dismissed  legislature.  He  was  sincere  in  his  belief 
that  his  subjects  were  not  ripe  for  parliamentary 
government,  and  that  in  the  seven  years  of  the  im- 
partial administration  he  guaranteed  them,  they  would 
be  able  to  judge  of  the  sort  of  constitution  which 
suited  them  best.  There  was  something  to  be  said 
for  the  Prince's  view  of  the  situation.  The  majority 
of  the  deputies  were  countryfolk,  more  attached  to 
individual  agitators  than  to  political  programmes  of 


78  CZAR  FERDINAND 

large  and  liberal  outlook,  and  without  the  smallest 
experience  of  administration  except  what  they  might 
have  picked  up,  in  their  respective  villages,  during  the 
Turkish  rule,  in  the  small  periodical  assemblies  at 
which  the  Christians  were  more  or  less  at  liberty — 
generally  less — ^to  express  their  opinions.  So  in  the 
first  stage  of  their  parliamentary  education  honourable 
members  were  almost  habitually  anarchic  and  violent 
in  debate.  And  being  of  an  extremely  frugal  race, 
they  grudged  even  necessary  expenses — as  for  the 
Prince's  palace,  that  to  the  fastidious  Prince  Ferdinand 
would  have  been  no  better  than  a  dog-hole.  (In  fact, 
it  was  in  a  wretched  state  when  he  did  enter  it.) 
Honestly  desirous  to  serve,  to  the  best  of  his  ability, 
his  adopted  country.  Prince  Alexander,  though  ener- 
getic, made  little  progress.  From  Czar  Alexander 
he  borrowed  war  ministers  and  many  other  depart- 
mental chiefs,  and  capriciously  got  rid  of  them,  to  deal 
in  like  manner  with  their  successors.  He  played  with 
the  Constitution  as  with  a  toy,  breaking  it  open  to  see 
what  was  inside.  In  the  end  he  wore  out  the  imperial 
patience.  The  clue  to  his  contradictory  conduct  is 
to  be  found  in  the  attitude  of  his  Russian  advisers. 
Prince  Alexander  needed  a  friend,  not  a  master.  But 
the  Czar's  representatives  in  Bulgaria  performed, 
without  disguise,  the  part  of  autocrats.  Prince  Alex- 
ander's eyes  were  opened.  He  had  become  univer- 
sally, bitterly  unpopular,  not  only  because  of  his 
coup  d^etaty  but  even  more  because  of  his  (supposed) 
surrender  to  Russia.    Early  in  the  third  year  of  what 


FIRST  GREAT  RENT  IN  BERLIN  TREATY  79 

was  to  have  been  the  educational  Septennate  of  the 
Bulgarian  people,  Prince  Alexander  (with  his  char- 
acteristic precipitancy)  restored  the  Constitution.  His 
Russian  ministers  advised  him  to  take  the  step.  But 
it  is  conceivable  that  they  were  actuated  by  a  desire  to 
win  the  popularity  which  never  had  been  theirs,  and 
which  the  Prince  had  forfeited. 

But  Prince  Alexander  more  than  regained  his 
popularity  by  his  bold  resolution  in  the  Roumeliote 
cause.  After  years  of  pacific  but  determined  agitation 
the  revolutionists  in  Philippopolis,  the  capital  of  the 
province,  proclaimed  the  insurrection.  *  Remember, 
sons  of  Bulgaria,'  so  the  document  ran, '  that  you  are 
degraded  by  serving  under  the  crescent,  the  flag  of 
those  who  have  persecuted  us  for  five  centuries.'  This 
was  in  September  1885.  The  Prince,  taken  by  sur- 
prise, hesitated.  But  Stambouloff,  now  President  of 
the  Chamber,  won  him  over  with  the  blunt  warning, 
*  The  Union  is  accomplished.  There  are  two  roads 
for  you,  one  to  Philippopolis,  the  other  to  Darmstadt.' 
The  Prince  chose  the  former.  And  in  a  proclamation 
from  historic  Tirnovo  he  signed  himself  Prince  of 
Northern  and  Southern  Bulgaria  —  the  first  rent, 
and  a  tremendous  one,  in  the  Berlin  Treaty.  Two 
Powers  to  whom  he  had  promised  to  respect  the 
status  quo  accused  him  of  treachery.  But  the  force  of 
things  was  too  great  both  for  him  and  for  them.  In 
the  words  of  Mr.  Beaman,^  StambouloflF's  friend  and 
biographer,  Bulgaria,  '  that  up  till  then  had  never 

^  Life  of  Stambouloff'^  1 895. 


8o  CZAR  FERDINAND 

been  taken  au  serieux^  *  took  the  plunge ' :  *  before  the 
1 8th  September  Bulgaria  was  a  quantity  unknown, 
and  unsuspected  except  to  a  very  few ;  from  that  date 
she  took  her  place  among  the  pieces  on  the  chessboard 
with  a  definite  value/  Who  should  punish  the  law- 
breaker ?  Turkey  ?  But  if  Turkey  stirred,  Mace- 
donia would  rebel.  England,  France,  Germany  ? 
But  these  were  agreed  to  leave  the  matter  in  Russia's 
hands.  And  if  Russia  stirred,  so  would  Austria.  And 
as  *  the  Chancelleries  '  feared  each  other,  the  Bul- 
garians were  left  unmolested.  Again  the  force  of 
things,  too  strong  for  verbal  logic.  Lord  Salisbury 
himself  reminded  the  Turkish  Government  that  in 
the  course  of  time  even  *  venerated  *  treaties  must 
yield  to  general  expediency.  Russia's  punishment 
of  Prince  Alexander  was  to  withdraw  all  her  officers 
from  the  newly-formed,  half- trained  Bulgarian  army — 
a  deprivation  that  seemed  to  have  left  the  Bulgarians 
defenceless  before  the  Servians,  who  now,  to  preserve 
the  Balkanic  equilibrium  (by  helping  themselves  to  a 
slice  of  Turkish  territory),  declared  war  upon  them. 
It  did  not  strike  the  Servians  that  they  themselves 
were  violating  the  *  venerated  '  treaty  when  they 
made  war  upon  a  state  tributary  (as  the  Bulgarian 
Principality  was)  to  Turkey.  Alexander's  swift  vic- 
tory threw  his  people  into  transports  of  enthusiasm. 
The  Prince  was  idolised.  Russia's  desertion  and  the 
Servian  invasion  had  the  effect  of  kindling  into  flame 
the  awakening  national  sentiment  of  the  Bulgar  race. 
Russia's  hatred  of  the  intractable  Prince  became  im- 


FIRST  GREAT  RENT  IN  BERLIN  TREATY  8i 

placable.  The  Russian  party  in  Sofia,  having  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  artillery,  kidnapped  the 
Prince,  sent  him  out  of  the  country,  and  set  up  a 
provisional  government,  on  the  ground  that  the  Bul- 
garians were  unfit  for  constitutional  rule.  But  the 
bulk  of  the  army  and  the  nation  en  masse  supported 
Stambouloff,  who  dispersed  the  usurping  directory, 
and  recalled  '  our  heroic  and  well-beloved  Prince.* 
It  was  now  that  Prince  Alexander  committed  the 
irreparable  and  inexplicable  error  of  his  life.  On  his 
return  to  Bulgaria  he  telegraphed  to  the  Czar  (with- 
out Stambouloff's  knowledge)  that  he  was  ready  to 
return  his  crown  to  his  Imperial  Majesty,  from  whom 
he  had  received  it.  Another  violation  of  the  *  vener- 
ated '  treaty,  inasmuch  as  he  owed  his  crown  to 
Europe  and  the  Porte.  The  Czar^s  reply  destroyed 
the  last  hope  of  reconciliation.  Alexander  abdicated. 
A  Regency  was  established.  The  Russian  party,  both 
in  Bulgaria  and  the  Empire,  with  the  Czar's  commis- 
sioner, Kaulbars,  at  their  head,  made  a  last  and 
desperate  effort  to  secure  control  of  the  Bulgarian 
state.  The  commissioner  had  to  be  protected  from 
popular  violence.  The  Regency,  backed  by  the 
people  and  the  army,  suppressed  a  series  of  local 
conspiracies  planned  by  Russian  officers.  An  offer 
of  the  Bulgarian  throne  made  to  Prince  Vladimir  of 
Denmark  was  declined.  Prince  Charles  of  Roumania 
was  approached.  He  also  refused,  not,  however,  from 
a  sense  of  the  many  perils  involved  in  governing  the 
new  state,  but  because  he  feared  lest  his  consent  should 


82  CZAR  FERDINAND 

endanger  the  peace  of  Europe.  Stambouloff,  who 
had  cherished  the  dream  of  a  Balkanic  Confederation, 
regretted  Prince  Charleses  decision.  He  made  his 
next  offer  to  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Saxe-Coburg,  of 
whose  abiHty,  intelligence,  accomplishments,  and 
high  character  he  had  received  sundry  reports. 


XI 

THRONE  OFFERED  TO  PRINCE  FERDINAND 

Maximilian  Charles  Leopold  Marie  Ferdinand,  to 
give  him  his  full  name,  was  in  his  twenty-sixth  year. 
He  was  the  son  of  Prince  Auguste  of  Saxe-Coburg 
and  Princess  Clementine,  daughter  of  Louis  Philippe, 
King  of  the  French.  But  though  an  Austrian 
German  on  the  father's  side,  he  was  *  his  mother's 
son,'  a  Prince  of  the  true  Orleanist  stamp.  A 
certain  rigidity  of  manner  and  a  certain  quality  of 
dogged  tenacity  perhaps  indicate  the  Teutonic 
element  in  his  descent.  But  in  so  far  as  the  influ- 
ences of  heredity  are  concerned,  the  Czar,  whom  his 
subjects  proudly  recognise  as  the  '  first  of  good 
Bulgarians,'  is  nine-tenths  a  Frenchman.  Being  the 
grandson  of  the  Citizen  King,  whose  democratic 
sympathies  he  inherits,  the  young  Orleanist  Prince 
was  more  or  less  closely  allied  to  almost  every  ruling 
House  in  Europe.  Clearly  the  young  Prince's 
family  connections  would  have  satisfied  a  people 
more  fastidious  than  Stambouloff's  little  nation 
of  rustics.  To  the  Bulgarians  it  was  essential  that 
their  future  ruler  should  be  a  foreigner.  In  the  first 
place,  they  had  no  royalty^  jio  jtristocracy  of  their 
own.  They  were  a_rural  democracyTeveJled  down 
by  theTurks^  In  the  second  place,  the  sangumary 
contests^Between  the  two  princely  families  of  Servia 

83 


84  CZAR  FERDINAND 

taught  the  Bulgars  that  their  neighbours  would 
have  done  more  wisely  had  they  chosen  a  foreigner. 
In  the  third  place,  the  foreigner  might  become  a  good 
Bulgar  in  course  of  time,  and  the  founder  of  a  really 
native  dynasty  whose  position  nobody  would  dispute. 
But  would  the  youthful '  Coburger,*  as  he  was  called 
then  and  for  years  after,  accept  the  invitation  ?  To 
tell  the  truth,  the  Bulgarian  envoys,  already  tired  of 
hawking  their  vacant  throne  all  over  Europe,  and 
getting  a  No-thank-you  for  reply,  were  in  a  despond- 
ent mood  when  they  started  in  search  of  Prince 
Ferdinand. 

The  three  envoys— M.  Caltcheff,  M.  Grekoff,  and 
M.  Stoiloff,  from  one  of  whom  the  writer  received 
his  information  of  what  took  place — *  ran  Prince 
Ferdinand  to  earth  '  (to  use  the  same  gentleman's 
expression)  at  the  Coburg  Palace,  Vienna,  where 
he  was  living  with  his  mother.  Princess  Clemen- 
tine treated  the  envoys  with  the  gracious  hospital- 
ity for  which  she  was  famed.  Prince  Ferdinand 
was  polite  and  sympathetic,  and  *  in  every  way 
charming  * — ^but  said  *  No.'  To  appoint  him  with- 
out the  previous  consent  of  *  the  Powers '  and  the 
Porte  would  be  to  violate  the  Berlin  Treaty.  '  But 
we  cannot  wait,*  the  envoys  pleaded,  *  the  Powers 
have  left  the  matter  in  Russia's  hands,  and  Russia 
neither  approves  our  choice  of  Prince  Waldemar  nor 
suggests  any  other.'  The  Prince  could  only  repeat 
that,  if  *  the  Powers  '  were  agreeable,  he  would  be 
disposed  to  accept  the  invitation.    This  was  in  the 


THRONE  OFFERED  PRINCE  FERDINAND    85 

last  month  of  1886.  The  envoys,  greatly  discour- 
aged, resumed  their  travels.  They  were  in  such 
sore  straits  that  they  even  applied  to  Prince  Alex- 
ander of  Battenberg.  But  the  Prince,  having  been 
kidnapped  once,  and  next  forced  by  Russia  to  abdi- 
cate, flatly  refused.  M.  Alexandre  Hepp,  Prince 
Ferdinand's  biographer,  is  the  authority  for  this  state- 
ment. The  petitioners  could  have  made  this  excuse 
for  their  comical  procedure,  that  His  Highness  had 
abdicated  in  spite  of  the  prayers  and  remonstrances 
of  StamboulofF,  who,  in  an  effusive  moment,  for  he 
loved  the  Battenberger,  declared  that  Alexander  had 
in  him  the  makings  of  a  really  able  ruler  ;  in  spite, 
also,  of  the  people's  tears.  He  could  not  have  for- 
gotten the  weeping  crowds  that  surrounded  his 
carriage  as  he  was  taking  his  last  look  of  the  streets 
of  Sofia.  But  the  amiable  Prince  Alexander  was 
inexorable. 

According  to  some  writers,  prejudiced,  one  easily 
sees,  against  Czar  Ferdinand,  it  was  the  Prince 
himself,  and  his  mother.  Princess  Clementine,  who, 
through  the  agency  of  intimate  friends,  induced  the 
Bulgarian  Regent  to  apply  to  the  *  Coburg  Prince.* 
From  this  point  of  view  Prince  Ferdinand's  refusal 
was  mere  pretence.  The  Princess,  we  are  told,  always 
had  the  prevision  of  a  glorious  destiny  for  the  son 
whom  she  worshipped — and  who  repaid  her  adoration 
with  a  lifelong  fervour.  The  *  shrewdest,'  *  most 
intelligent,'  *  most  practical '  princess  in  Europe  felt 
confirmed  in  her  faith  when  a  gipsy  woman  foretold 


86  CZAR  FERDINAND 

that  the  baby  Ferdinand  in  his  cradle  would  wear  a 
royal  crown.  And  Clementine,  so  the  legend  goes 
on,  deliberately  trained  her  idolised  son  with  a  view 
to  the  monarchical  career  the  Fates  had  in  store  for 
him.  He  was  made  to  study  the  literature  of  diplo- 
macy and  of  statecraft.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was 
a  regular  Machiavelli.  Knowledge  of  languages  being 
a  kingly  accomplishment  of  the  greatest  value — for 
social  as  well  as  for  political  reasons — the  Prince  was 
taught  the  principal  languages  of  Europe,  English 
included.  And  as  even  a  gipsy  soothsayer  could  not 
foresee  what  particular  nation  he  was  ordained  to 
rule  over,  Her  Royal  Highness  took  care  that  his 
linguistic  acquirements  should  be  exceptionally  vari- 
ous. It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Princess  was  a 
thorough-going  professor.  Her  adored — and  always 
loving — ^pupil  even  learnt  the  Magyar  tongue  (one  of 
the  most  difficult  and  least  euphonious,  it  is  said,  in 
the  world).  For  at  some  crisis  in  the  dual  monarchy 
Hungary  might  some  day  have  need  of  a  king.  The 
design  was  hardly  complimentary  to  the  princely 
pupil's  sovereign  lords,  the  Hapsburgs,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  it  may  have  been  kept  a  secret  from  the  states- 
men of  Vienna.  After  all  this,  it  seems  surprising 
that  in  the  Prince's  curriculum  the  Bulgarian  lan- 
guage was  overlooked.  For  Bulgaria  was,  of  all 
others,  the  country  in  which  it  was  most  likely  that 
something  should  turn  up  ;  and  Prince  Ferdinand 
was  anything  but  a  feckless  Micawber.  With  the 
fixed  idea  of  coming  greatness  in  their  minds,  the 


THRONE  OFFERED  PRINCE  FERDINAND    87 

Princess  and  her  son — the  story  goes  on — ^were 
astonished,  indignant,  hurt,  when  Stambouloff's 
envoys,  on  their  first  round  through  an  unsympathetic 
Europe,  passed  by  without  giving  them  a  call.  But 
what  else  would  you  expect  from  a  set  of  rude 
Scythians  ? 

What  slight  basis  of  fact  there  may  have  been  in 
this  unflattering,  but  sometimes  lively  and  amusing, 
description  of  the  Prince's  attitude  and  his  mother's, 
will  be  presently  shown.  Meanwhile  it  may  be  re- 
marked that  the  Prince's  part  in  the  affair,  after  his 
visitors  with  their  Wardour  Street  regalia  resumed 
their  travels,  did  not  at  all  resemble  that  of  *  a  cat 
watching  mice  ' — three  mice  in  this  case,  the  three 
Bulgar  envoys.  On  the  contrary,  it  would  seem  as  if 
he  had  forgotten  all  about  the  aifair.  He  left  Vienna, 
on  a  trip  through  Italy.  Of  all  royal  trippers.  Prince 
Ferdinand  of  Saxe-Coburg  was  the  most  assiduous. 
It  might  be  said  of  him  that  his  taste  for  roaming 
over  the  world  was  insatiable.  It  was  an  Orleanist 
taste.  In  Italy  the  Prince  had  his  uncle,  the  Due 
d'Aumale,  as  his  companion.  On  reaching  Naples,^ 
it  is  said,  the  Prince  received  the  familiar  invitation, 
conveyed  by  a  special  messenger.  But  this  second 
attempt  to  secure  the  Prince  must  have  been  as 
abortive  as  the  first.  However,  a  Bulgar  is  never 
easily  diverted  from  his  set  purpose.  Dogged  tena- 
city is  a  prime  characteristic  of  his  race.  And  so, 
early  in  1887,  another  delegation  (the  third,  accord- 

^  Hcpp,  Ferdinand  de  Bulgarie,  1910. 


88  CZAR  FERDINAND 

ing  to  the  account  already  cited)  arrived  at  Ebenthal. 
This  time  it  consisted  of  one  member  only — namely, 
M.  Stoiloff,  one  of  the  three  delegates  in  the  Decem- 
ber visit.  M.  Stambouloff's  selection  of  Dr.  Stoiloff 
only,  has  been  commended  as  an  example  of  subtlety 
on  the  part  of  a  dictator  habitually  outright  in  his 
methods.  For  M.  Stoiloff  was  a  man  of  singular  tact 
and  courtesy,  self-possessed,  genial  in  his  manner, 
a  good  talker  and  listener,  well  read,  and  a  lover  of 
Paris,  where  he  had  lived  for  some  time. 


XII 

THE  PRINCE'S  TASTES  AND  TEMPERAMENT 

No  happier  choice  of  an  envoy  could  have  been  made. 
In  making  it,  M.  Stambouloff  proved  he  had  in  him 
something  of  diplomatic  subtlety.  The  Prince  and 
his  visitor  had  many  tastes  in  common.  The  mere 
fact  that  M.  StoilofF  was  about  as  much  of  a  Parisian 
as  any  foreigner  could  be  was  a  recommendation  in 
the  eyes  of  a  Prince  who  has  all  his  life  ardently  loved 
the  *  capital  of  civilisation.'  In  a  quiet  tete-a-tete^ 
with  now  and  then  a  bon  mot  thrown  in  (both  gentle- 
men having  a  pretty  knack  in  that  direction),  and  with 
an  advocate  of  M.  Stoiloff's  quality.  His  Highness 
was  more  at  home,  readier  to  look  patiently  into  every 
side  of  a  hard  and  delicate  problem  than  he  had  been 
in  presence  of  the  early  deputation.  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand the  fastidious  had  still  to  learn  how  to  suffer 
imperturbably  the  palaeolithic  manners  of  some  of 
Bulgaria's  foremost  representatives.  No  detailed 
record  is  available  of  a  conversation  which  should  be 
historic.  The  result  of  it  must  suffice.  At  first  the 
Prince  stipulated,  as  he  had  done  before,  for  the  con- 
sent of  the  Great  Powers.  Then,  yielding  the  point, 
he  proposed  that  he  should  proceed  to  Sofia  in  the 
character  of  a  commissioner,  to  hold  office  until 
Turkey  and  the  Powers  should  either  confirm  the 
Regency's  choice  of  him,  or  select  his  successor.    It 


90  CZAR  FERDINAND 

seemed  to  him  that  a  provisional  arrangement  of  that 
nature  was  in  no  way  inconsistent  with  the  sacred 
Treaty  of  Berlin.  M.  Stoiloff,  it  was  said,  agreed 
with  the  Prince,  but  argued  that  a  commissioner 
could  not  possibly  acquire  the  prestige  or  wield  the 
authority  of  a  ruler  such  as  Bulgaria  needed,  and  that, 
by  delaying  the  selection  of  a  head  of  the  state,  the 
temporary  expedient  would  encourage  the  intrigues 
of  the  foes  of  Bulgaria's  freedom.  After  this  argu- 
ment, it  is  said,  the  Prince  gave  way.  He  would 
accept  the  Regency's  offer,  on  the  condition  that  it 
should  be  ratified  by  the  national  assembly.  The 
primal  objection  still  remained.  The  Prince,  even  at 
this  preliminary  stage,  was  tearing  up  the  *  venerated  * 
Treaty.  But  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
treaties  were  made  for  men,  and  not  men  for 
treaties.  He  would,  as  he  said,  *  take  the  risks.' 
We  shall  see  that  the  Powers,  by  refraining  from 
interference  with  him,  gave  him  the  justification  he 
sought. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  reconcile  the  foregoing 
account,  based  on  trustworthy  authority,  with  the 
assertion  sometimes  made  that  Stambouloff 's  envoys 
found  in  Prince  Ferdinand  a  grown-up  spoilt  child, 
yet  timid,  and  nervous,  and  undecided,  and  even 
*  neurasthenic  ' :  a  weakling  with  whom  no  business 
could  profitably  be  transacted.  The  outer  man, 
according  to  this  description  of  him,  bore  the  exact 
impress  of  the  mind  within.  An  unsatisfactory 
choice,  surely,  for  the  most  unstable  and  the  most 


PRINCE'S  TASTES  AND  TEMPERAMENT    91 

perilous  throne  in  Europe.  Bulgaria  was  in  search  of 
a  chief  with  some  grit  in  him.  But  we  are  asked  to 
believe  he  had  none.  According  to  a  statement 
attributed  to  one  of  the  three  delegates,  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand was  more  *  fit  to  lie  on  a  sofa  than  to  sit  in  the 
saddle.'  The  supposed  delegate  certainly  could  not 
have  been  M.  Stoiloff.  And  if  the  Prince  left  upon 
the  envoys  an  impression  so  incompatible  with  the 
lofty  ambition  attributed  to  him,  an  impression 
which  they  were  bound  to  communicate  to  the 
dictator  in  Sofia,  how  came  it  that  the  Prince  was 
afterwards  and  repeatedly  begged  to  reconsider  his 
refusal  ?  It  may  be  replied  that  M.  Stambouloff, 
bent  upon  permanent  dictatorship,  deliberately 
made  choice  of  the  '  weakling.'  If  that  was  the  case, 
M.  Stambouloff  and  his  envoys  wholly  misinterpreted 
Prince  Ferdinand's  character.  The  impression  one 
derives  from  the  story  of  the  negotiations  is  that 
Prince  Ferdinand  was  a  man  of  resolution,  and  his 
supposed  timidity  a  not  unreasonable  caution,  and 
that  once  he  did  make  his  mind  up  he  would  not  fear 
consequences.  M.  Stoiloff 's  host  in  the  chateau  of 
Ebenthal  was  quite  unlike  the  weakling  of  the  descrip- 
tion above  mentioned.  He  was  a  tall  young  man, 
slender,  but  with  sufficient  promise  of  physical  vigour. 
He  was  altogether  in  the  *  grand  style,'  though,  not 
unnaturally,  somewhat  diffident  at  the  commence- 
ment of  negotiations.  His  high  forehead  indicated 
intelligence,  his  strongly  marked  features  and  the 
lines  of  his  mouth  indicated  character.    The  pose  of 


92  CZAR  FERDINAND 

the  head  was  described  as  '  royal/  His  hair  was  very 
fair,  abundant,  and  wavy.  The  eyes — steel-blue, 
steady,  penetrating,  coldly  severe,  or  *  caressing,* 
according  to  the  mood  and  the  occasion — were  the 
tell-tale  feature.  The  *  grand  seigneur'  to  the  tips  of 
his  long,  slender,  finely-shaped  fingers.  *  Damn  her 
nose,  there  *s  no  end  to  it,*  muttered  one  of  the 
greatest  of  English  artists,  while  painting  the  portrait 
of  the  illustrious  Mrs.  Siddons.  One  may  guess  how 
he  might  have  growled  at  Prince  Ferdinand's  nose. 
*Too  copious  for  one  man,'  it  was  said.  It  so 
resembled  the  nose  of  a  renowned  ancestor.  For 
the  glory  of  kinship  with  Francis  the  First,  one 
might  gladly  wear  the  nose  of  a  Cyrano  de 
Bergerac. 

Reticence,  a  different  quality  from  taciturnity, 
M.  Stambouloff's  envoys  might  have  read  in  young 
Prince  Ferdinand's  countenance.  In  this  respect  the 
Prince  presented  a  strong  contrast  to  the  Batten- 
berger,  whom  the  Bulgars — a  people  slowly  susceptible 
— loved.  The  Coburg  Prince  could  keep  his  own 
counsel.  Prince  Alexander  never  could.  Prince 
Ferdinand,  as  M.  Georges  Bousquet  writes,  had 
learnt  betimes  to  hide  his  emotions.  He  could 
assume  an  *  impenetrable  mask.'  This  was  in  a 
large  measure  owing  to  his  intellectual  training,  and 
his  constant  intercourse  with  the  European  courts. 
But  when  the  right  occasion  came,  no  man  could  be 
more  communicative,  more  frank  in  the  expression  of 
his  personal  feelings,  more  genially  free-and-easy,  in 


PRINCE'S  TASTES  AND  TEMPERAMENT    93 

short,  than  Prince  Ferdinand.  He  is  a  compound  of 
German  steadiness  and  French  elan.  *  Froidement 
resolu,  a  la  fois  calculateur  et  hardi,  avise  et  intrepide, 
aussi  prompt  a  discerner  et  a  tourner  les  difficultes,  si 
elles  etaient  resolubles,  que  pret  a  affronter  le  danger 
s*il  etait  inevitable,'  is  M.  Bousquet's  estimate  of  the 
Czar,  as  it  might  have  been  of  the  Prince  at  the  time 
of  his  accession  to  the  Bulgarian  throne.  It  was  the 
early  manifestation  of  the  diplomatic  trait  in  Prince 
Ferdinand's  character  that  might  have  led  some  of  his 
critics  to  attribute  the  education  he  underwent  to 
dynastic  scheming.  Princess  Clementine,  no  doubt, 
cherished  dreams  of  an  illustrious  career  for  her 
favourite  son.  But  if  she  had  not  done  so,  his  train- 
ing would  not  have  been  in  any  way  different.  Love 
of  literature,  science,  and  the  arts  was  hereditary  in 
the  House  of  Orleans.  The  Princess  herself  was  one 
of  the  most  accomplished,  and  the  *  cleverest,'  of  all 
women  of  her  rank  and  station  in  Europe.  It  was 
her  earnest  desire  that  her  son  should  do  honour  to 
the  traditional  culture  of  the  family.  As  for  his  study 
of  Machiavelli  (which  has  excited  the  suspicions  of 
certain  critics) — why  should  not  anybody  with  brains 
and  leisure  read  him  ?  But  the  Prince's  education 
was  not  confined  to  the  study  of  books.  He  travelled 
not  only  in  most  countries  of  Europe,  including  Eng- 
land, where  he  visited  his  exiled  grandmother,  ex- 
Queen  Amelie,  but  also  in  Asia  Minor,  Brazil,  and 
other  South  American  States.  His  knowledge  of 
Asiatic  Turkey  may  be  useful  to  him  in  the  next  great 


94  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Turkish  crisis — when  the  Turk  and  the  Moslem 
Semite,  otherwise  the  Arab,  fall  out.  Not  with  an 
eye  to  a  throne,  but  with  an  eye  for  the  picturesque, 
and  a  strong  bent  for  observation,  did  Prince  Fer- 
dinand travel  over  half  the  world.  Science,  litera- 
ture, and  travel  (and  his  well-filled  note-books 
thereon)  occupied  him  while  some  of  his  illustrious 
contemporaries,  with  equal  facilities  for  intellectual 
pursuits,  cultivated  the  noble  art  of  pigeon-shoot- 
ing. It  was  a  form  of  sport  which  he  would  have 
despised.  He  was  and  is  a  sportsman.  Certain 
forms  of  so-called  *  sport '  still  tolerated  in  this 
country  would  horrify  him.  He  has  a  constitu- 
tional horror  of  anything  savouring  of  cruelty. 
M.  Alexandre  Hepp  tells  a  story  about  the  Prince's 
prevention  of  cruelty  to  a  seal  captured  by  a  fisher- 
man at  a  place  on  the  Black  Sea  coast  some  miles 
distant  from  his  residence  at  Euxinograd.  The 
fisherman  exhibited  the  seal,  for  money.  The 
Prince,  hearing  of  it,  drove  all  the  way  to  the 
fisherman's  show,  bought  the  seal  for  six  hundred 
francs,  and  launched  the  creature  into  the  sea. 
His  antipathy  to  the  infliction  of  pain  disqualified 
him,  according  to  some  of  his  critics,  for  the 
duties  of  a  War  Lord.  But  the  sensitive  Prince 
Ferdinand  is  the  creator,  in  much  more  than  a 
titular  sense,  of  the  army  whose  feats  have  been 
astonishing  Europe.  It  is  related  by  correspondents 
on  the  spot  that  Czar  Ferdinand  shed  tears  when  he 
saw  the  first  wounded  soldiers  carried  into  his  quar- 


PRINCE'S  TASTES  AND  TEMPERAMENT    95 

ters  at  Stara  Zagora.  But  tears  sometimes  trickled 
down  the  cheeks  of  the  Iron  Duke,  and  His  Grace 
is  known  to  have  *  prayed  to  God  '  that  he  might 
*  never  see  another  battle/ 

For  the  Prince  Ferdinand  of  this  period  war  had 
no  glamour  of  romance.  He  was  well  read  in  military 
history,  particularly  in  the  wars  of  the  Revolution  and 
of  the  Napoleonic  era.  He  had,  and  always  has  re- 
tained, a  keen  sense  of  historical  associations  ;  and 
those  connected  with  some  of  his  beautiful  estates  in 
Austria-Hungary  possess,  for  him,  a  value  not  to  be 
estimated  in  money.  In  Ebenthal,  for  example,  the 
Austrian  chateau  built  by  one  of  his  ancestors  some 
time  in  the  later  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Napoleon  slept  after  the  battle  of  Wagram.  Eben- 
thal, with  its  memorials  of  his  venerated  mother, 
and  of  the  royal  families  with  which  he  is  allied, 
is  a  loved  retreat  of  the  Czar's.  In  his  earlier 
days  the  associations  of  Schonbrunn  fascinated 
him,  for  there  the  Duke  of  Reichstadt,  the  great 
Napoleon's  son,  lived  his  solitary  life,  virtually  a 
prisoner,  abandoned  by  his  family,  forgotten  of  the 
world,  brooding  over  his  father's  fate  in  a  lonely 
island  of  the  Atlantic,  following  with  his  books  and 
his  maps  the  great  soldier's  career.  And  in  Schon- 
brunn *  Napoleon  the  Second  '  died.  Young  Prince 
Ferdinand's  notion  of  war  at  the  time  of  his  election 
to  the  Bulgarian  throne  was  that  of  the  Czar  Ferdi- 
nand of  fifty-two  on  the  battlefields  of  Thrace — ^war 
was  a  hateful  incident  in  the  evolution  of  the  nations. 


96  CZAR  FERDINAND 

not  an  unavoidable  incident,  but,  on  the  contrary,  one 
that  a  wise  statesmanship — that  is  to  say,  a  statesman- 
ship inspired  by  the  idea  of  the  universal  weal — can 
usually  avert.  Czar  Ferdinand's  mood  on  the  sub- 
ject is  that  of  the  English  statesman  who  would 
*  knock  down  the  first  man  who  would  disturb  the 
peace  of  Europe.'  He  is,  as  he  has  sometimes  de- 
scribed himself,  *  a  good  European.'  But  though  he 
abhors  war,  he  considers  it  his  duty  to  prosecute  it, 
if  it  be  inevitable,  with  the  utmost  rapidity  and  vigour 
— and  that  for  humane  no  less  than  for  political 
reasons.  In  the  Turkish  campaigns  the  Bulgarian 
Czar  has  displayed  his  twofold  gift  of  *  German 
tenacity  and  French  elan.^ 

It  is  not  the  fact — though  the  contrary  has  been 
affirmed — that  Prince  Ferdinand  entered  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  army  with  the  express  purpose — implanted 
in  him,  or  encouraged,  by  his  mother — of  educat- 
ing himself  for  the  role  of  King  and  War  Lord 
in  some  orphaned  realm  (as  yet  undiscovered).  He 
entered  the  Austrian  army  for  the  same  reasons  which 
prompted  the  great  majority  of  his  fellow-officers, 
whether  born  in  the  purple,  or  merely  commonplace 
aristocratic  youngsters  with  money  in  their  purse  and 
nothing  in  particular  to  do.  It  was  the  *  correct 
thing  ' — as  correct  in  easy-going  Vienna  as  in  go- 
ahead,  grim  Berlin.  A  little  *  service  '  was  good  for 
educational  discipline.  It  had  social  advantages,  not 
to  be  despised  in  a  Germanic  world  wherein  a  noble- 
man, with  nothing  of  the  military  halo  about  him,  is 


PRINCE'S  TASTES  AND  TEMPERAMENT    97 

apt  to  be  looked  down  upon.  As  far  as  the  practical 
part  of  the  military  life  was  concerned,  the  young 
Orleanist  Prince  performed  his  part  conscientiously, 
but  without  any  exceptional  ardour.  What  he  did 
show  a  lively  interest  in  was  military  organisation, 
theories  of  war,  and  the  progress  of  mechanical  and 
chemical  invention  in  armaments. 


XIII 

CZAR  FERDINAND  THE  GOOD  BULGAR 

Prince  Ferdinand's  natural  bent  was,  as  it  still  is, 
pacific.  Like  more  than  one  distinguished  member 
of  his  family  he  would  have  been  quite  content  to  live 
a  studious  life,  collecting  rare  books  and  works  of  art, 
cultivating  natural  science,  patronising  scientific  insti- 
tutions, taking  a  personal,  active  part  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  estates,  and  varying  his  placid  existence 
with  an  occasional  trip  abroad.  In  this  respect  he 
bore  some  resemblance  to  the  most  popular  and  the 
most  accomplished  of  King  Louis-Philippe's  descend- 
ants, his  uncle,  the  Due  d'Aumale ;  and  a  resem- 
blance not  merely  in  tastes,  but  also,  one  must 
suppose,  in  their  attitude  towards  the  question  of  dyn- 
astic possibilities.  The  Due  d'Aumale 's  popularity 
in  France  after  the  fall  of  the  Second  Empire  is,  or 
should  be,  a  matter  of  common  knowledge.  No  one 
doubted  the  sincerity,  the  unselfishness  of  his  patriot- 
ism. With  the  self-assertion  of  Louis  Napoleon — 
whose  superior  he  was  both  in  character  and  in 
intelligence — he  might  have  become  the  chief  of  the 
state.  His  friends  urged  him  on.  One  of  the  most 
insistent  among  them  was  the  Countess  Castiglione, 
for  a  long  time  the  reigning  beauty  at  the  Tuileries. 
To  their  supplications  the  Duke's  invariable  answer 
was  that,  if  the  French  people  desired  to  place  him  at 


CZAR  FERDINAND  THE  GOOD  BULGAR    99 

the  head  of  the  state,  it  remained  for  them  to  say  it,  but 
that  as  for  himself,  he  would  not  move  a  step.  Many 
years  later,  when  the  Bulgarian  opportunity  presented 
^  itself,  the  nephew  took  a  similar  line.  He  would  not 
seek  the  Bulgarian  crown.  Nor  would  he  reject  it  if 
offered  to  him,  not  by  a  party,  but  by  the  whole  nation. 
Judged  by  his  character,  as  it  was  estimated  by  his 
contemporaries  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  Prince 
Ferdinand  would  not  have  accepted  the  Bulgarian 
crown  but  for  the  conviction  that  it  signified  for  him 
the  possibility  of  a  beneficent  career.  The  role  of  a 
roi  faineant  had  no  attractions  for  him.  He  must  be 
a  strenuous  king  of  men,  or  remain  an  Austrian  land- 
lord. A  newly  born  nation  in  a  state  of  anarchy  re- 
quired a  second  liberator,  and  the  young  Orleanist 
Prince  felt  confident  in  his  ability  to  supply  the  need. 
Apart  from  the  alluring  prospect,  he  had  every  induce- 
ment to  remain  content  with  his  already  distinguished 
position.  He  had  all  the  advantages  the  world  could 
give,  great  wealth,  familiar  intercourse  with  the  high- 
est society  in  every  court  and  capital.  He  had  culti- 
vated a  strong  taste  for  economic  subjects,  and  for 
agriculture  especially.  His  estates  in  Austria  and 
Hungary  constituted  in  themselves  a  little  kingdom, 
with  plenty  of  scope  in  it  for  the  exercise  of  a  pro- 
gressive capacity.  Besides,  as  already  hinted,  the 
golden-curled,  slim-waisted,  dandified,  unattached 
young  Prince  of  1887  was  a  far  more  fastidious,  in- 
accessible person  than  the  grey-haired,  close-cropped, 
burly  Czar  of  1913,  who  is  in  his  element  when  he 


100  CZAR  FERDINAND 

goes  strolling  about  in  country  places,  chatting  pleas- 
antly and  paternally  among  the  farming  and  labouring 
folk,  looking  into  their  cowsheds  and  pig-styes,  poking 
a  bullock  in  the  ribs  with  a  hand  less  femininely 
delicate  than  of  yore — talking,  be  it  remembered,  in 
the  countryfolk's  native  Bulgarian,  or  rather  in  their 
local  patois ;  for  the  existent  linguistic  varieties  in 
Bulgaria  are  as  numerous  as  her  administrative  pro- 
vinces, reminiscent,  in  that  respect,  of  the  secular 
attempt  by  Turk  and  Greek  to  break  up  the  Bul- 
garian race,  and  destroy  every  means  of  its  reunion. 
Czar  Ferdinand  is  as  perfect  a  master  of  Bulgarian  as 
he  is  of  French  and  German. 

Any  one  acquainted  with  Czar  Ferdinand's  tastes 
and  habits  may  readily  divine  the  pleasure  with  which, 
after  the  wars  are  over.  His  Majesty  will  resume  his 
solitary  country  rambles.  He  is  the  kind  of  man  to 
appreciate  Diocletian  (another  dandified  potentate,  by 
the  way,  and  yet  a  man  of  action)  in  his  Nicomedian 
cabbage  garden.  With  his  stout  stick,  leathern  leg- 
gings, long  overcoat,  and  slouch  hat — or  perhaps  native 
kalpack — Czar  Ferdinand  might  pass  for  a  prosperous 
country  farmer  on  his  rounds.  That  the  male  rustics 
make  deep  obeisance  before  him,  with  heads  un- 
covered, and  the  women  reverentially  kiss  his  hands 
is  not  an  indication  of  his  rank.  In  country  places 
the  housewife  kisses  a  visitor's  hands,  and  stands 
while  he  sits.  Woman's  emancipation  is  a  laggard 
process  in  the  East.  In  this  case,  however,  it  is  their 
King's  hand  which  the  village  women  kiss,  and  which 
pats  the  children's  heads.    The  Czar  likes  to  chat 


CZAR  FERDINAND  THE  GOOD  BULGAR  loi 

with  the  children  about  their  schoolbooks,  with  their 
parents  about  their  corn  and  tobacco  crops,  their  local 
markets,  their  requirements  in  means  of  communica- 
tion. Czar  Ferdinand's  rural  pastimes,  his  love  of 
solitary  rambles,  are  indications  of  character  not  to  be 
overlooked  in  any  estimate  of  him.  It  has  been  said 
of  him  that  he  could  dictate  straight  off,  or  write, 
currente  calamo,  a  first-rate  itinerary  of  his  kingdom, 
with  tempting  notes  about  the  '  beauty  spots  '  in  it : 
the  northern  part  of  his  kingdom,  that  is  to  say,  for  he 
has  not  had  time  just  yet  to  *  do  *  the  many  beauties 
of  Macedonia.  Czar  Ferdinand  is  as  conversant  with 
the  customs  and  traditions  of  the  country-people  as  he 
is  with  their  speech,  and  as  interested  in  them  as  any 
of  the  savants  who  for  years  have  been  engaged  in 
their  investigation.  But  to  this  subject  we  shall  return 
in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

One  may  now  form  some  guess  as  to  what  Prince 
Ferdinand  might  have  been  had  not  the  Fates  made 
him  king  over  a  semi-Oriental  people,  account  for  the 
hesitations  attributed  to  him  in  December  1886  and 
the  following  spring,  and  appreciate  Princess  Clemen- 
tine's influence  in  bringing  him  to  a  decision.  Accord- 
ing to  some  authorities,  the  decision  was  hers  rather 
than  his.  But  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  eliminate  the 
Prince's  own  will  and  calculated  forecast.  Those  who 
from  personal  knowledge  could  speak  with  authority 
on  this  matter,  allege  that  Princess  Clementine  would 
not,  in  the  last  resort,  have  opposed  the  resolution  of 
the  son  whose  *  every  wish  *  she  loved  to  *  gratify.' 
On  the  other  hand,  these  authorities  are  no  less 


102  CZAR  FERDINAND 

emphatic  in  their  assertions  respecting  the  son's  deep 
reverence  for  his  mother's  judgment  and  his  Hfelong 
eagerness  to  please  her.  So  it  is  quite  possible  that 
Princess  Clementine's  counsel  may  have  turned  the 
scale.  She  was  intensely  ambitious,  in  the  lofty  sense 
of  the  word.  She  possessed,  or  was  possessed  by, 
the  idea  of  monarchical  indispensability  even  in  the 
modern  world.  Her  sentiment  of  kingly  caste  was 
as  confirmed  as  any  German  monarch's.  She  was  far 
less  democratic  than  her  easy-going,  affable,  some- 
what commonplace  sire,  the  Citizen  King.  But  her 
idea  of  monarchy  was  a  dignified  one.  For  the  sake 
of  its  realisation  she  would  not  have  the  splendours 
and  the  allurements  of  Vienna,  St.  Petersburg,  and 
Paris  stop  her  son's  road  to  Sofia,  the  squalid  Bulgar 
capital,  more  village  than  town,  which  Prince  Alex- 
ander's reign  of  seven  years  had  not  quite  divested  of 
its  Turkish  character.  The  Princess  Clementine  of 
the  Bulgar  negotiations  was  the  same  who  forty  years 
earlier — in  February  1848 — obstinately  resisted  to  the 
last  her  father's  signature  to  his  abdication.  In  more 
senses  than  one,  Bulgaria  owes  her  now  popular 
dynasty  to  Clementine  of  Orleans.  She  lived  to  see 
the  firm  establishment  of  the  Principality  and  her 
son's  progress  in  his  '  trade,'  as  he  calls  it,  of  kingship, 
but  not  long  enough  ^  to  witness  the  rise — which  she 
had  predicted — of  a  Balkanic  Confederation,  with 
Bulgaria  as  its  principal  member,  and  her  son  at  the 
head  of  a  victorious  army. 

*  Princess  Clementine  died  in  September  1907,  aged  89. 


XIV 

POWERS'  APPROVAL  FIRST,  CORONATION  NEXT 

Prince  Ferdinand  having  made  up  his  mind  to  *  take 
the  risks,'  Stambouloff  and  his  co-regents  went  to 
work  with  business-like  rapidity.  The  *  Great  As- 
sembly,* counting  double  the  number  of  representa- 
tives in  the  ordinary  Parliament,  was  summoned  to 
meet  at  Tirnovo  for  the  purpose  of  voting  on  the 
question  of  His  Highness 's  election  :  the  total  num- 
ber of  delegates  present  was  about  four  hundred. 
Multitudes  of  people  from  the  surrounding  country, 
from  Sofia,  and  the  Danubian  towns  poured  into  the 
old  capital.  Its  narrow,  crooked,  steep  streets  fluttered 
with  the  Bulgarian  flag.  Triumphal  arches  bore  the 
inscription, '  Welcome  to  the  Nation's  Deputies.' 

The  deputies  assembled  on  the  3rd  of  July. 
Serious  business  began  on  the  4th  with  the  election 
of  a  chairman.  The  fact  that  the  chairman  was 
Stambouloff 's  nominee,  and  that  he  was  chosen  by  a 
sweeping  majority,  was  a  sign  not  only  of  the  Dictator- 
Regent's  increasing  influence,  but  also  of  the  anti- 
Russian  sentiment  of  the  majority  of  the  assembly. 
Stambouloff  was  Russia's  sworn  enemy.  About  a 
hundred  of  the  delegates  were  regarded  as  Russo- 
philes.  The  pro- Russians,  though  comparatively 
weak  in  numbers,  were  extremely  active.  There 
were    serious    dissensions    among    the    Nationalist 

lOS 


[04  CZAR  FERDINAND 

majority,    whose    motto    was    *  Bulgaria    for    the 
Bulgarians '  with  or  without  Russia.      Stambouloff 
was  accused  of  designs  to  make  himself  sole  regent. 
The   War   Minister   also,    General   NicolaiefF,   was 
strongly  in  favour  of  the  re-election  of  Prince  Alex- 
ander of  Battenberg,  in  spite  of  the  Prince's  refusals. 
Alexander  kept  to  his  word.    '  I  shall  never  see  you 
again,'  he  exclaimed,  turning  round  in  his  carriage 
to  look  at  Sofia  as  he  drove  away  on  the  day  of  his 
abdication.    Alexander  was  still  the  popular  favour- 
ite.   There  was  something  pathetic  in  the  national 
attachment  to  him,  in  spite  of  all  the  serious  mistakes 
he  had  made.    The  deputies  on  their  arrival  for  the 
Grand  Assembly  were  greeted  with  cries  of  '  Long 
live  Alexander ! '  In  his  advocacy  of  Prince  Alexander's 
re-election  the  War  Minister  was  believed  to  have  the 
bulk  of  the  army  on  his  side.    At  any  rate  General 
Nicolaieff  was  exceedingly  popular  with  his  officers 
and  men.    And  there  was  a  further  complication  in 
the  fact  that  there  was  a  third  '  candidate ' — if  the 
name  may  be  applied  to  persons  who  were  either 
reluctant  to  accept  the  vacant  throne  or  absolutely 
resolved  to  refuse  it.    There  was  a  great  deal  of 
mystery  as  to  the  identity  of  this  third  candidate. 
The  Regents,  though  they  had  him  in  mind  for 
months — for  they  were  uncertain  as  to  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand's final  decision — ^would  not  as  much  as  breathe 
his  name.    The  mysterious  third  was  Prince  Bernard 
of  Saxe-Weimar.    He  had  been  officially,   though 
vaguely,  described  as  a  candidate  *  unobjectionable  in 


POWERS*  APPROVAL  FIRST  105 

every  way,'  as  '  married/  and  as  '  allied  to  the  first 
reigning  families  in  Europe,'  and  with  *  no  compro- 
mising antecedents.'  Russia,  it  was  alleged,  would 
at  once  agree  to  his  appointment. 

Alexander  having  refused  to  return,  it  was  sug- 
gested that  he  should  be  permitted  to  live  abroad, 
bearing  the  title  of  Perpetual  Prince  of  Bulgaria, 
while  the  actual  government  of  the  country  should  be 
carried  on  in  his  name  by  a  regent.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  Austrian  journals,  and  in  England 
the  Times,  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Bulgarians 
might  do  well  to  dispense  with  a  Prince  altogether. 
No  man,  it  was  said,  *  will  accept  the  thankless  post.' 
But  the  election  of  a  Prince  was  imposed  upon  the 
Bulgarians  by  the  Constitution.  To  dispense  with 
one  would,  therefore,  be  to  break  the  constitution, 
and  to  further  Russia's  design — the  dismissal  of  the 
regents,  the  dissolution  of  the  national  Parliament,  and 
a  return  to  the  state  of  things  that  existed  before  the 
union  of  the  two  Bulgarias.  A  last  message  from 
Prince  Alexander,  declining  nomination,  on  the 
ground  of  ill-health  and  political  opposition,  was 
received  on  the  4th.  It  was  decided  to  wait  a  day 
or  so  for  a  reply  from  the  mysterious  candidate. 
But  no  reply  came.  And  on  the  7th  July  1887,  in  a 
crowded  assembly,  the  President,  M.  Tontcheff,  pro- 
posed Prince  Ferdinand's  election.  He  read  out 
aloud  the  Prince's  full  name,  titles,  and  lineage.  The 
deputies  started  to  their  feet,  waved  their  hats,  and 
cheered  lustily — *  Long  live  the  Prince  ! '    Then  they 


io6  CZAR  FERDINAND 

voted.  The  Prince  was  elected  without  a  dissentient 
voice.  Again  the  deputies  sprang  to  their  feet,  and 
acclaimed  the  successful,  though  far  from  self- 
assertive  *  candidate.'  It  was  an  impressive  scene. 
The  public  galleries  were  thronged.  But  among  the 
onlookers  there  was  not  a  single  diplomatic  agent  or 
foreign  representative  of  any  kind.  These  officials 
had  been  directed  by  their  respective  governments  to 
refrain  from  imparting,  by  their  presence,  any 
semblance  of  approval  to  the  assembly's  and  the 
Prince's  defiance  of  the  law  of  nations.  Among  the 
multitude  of  persons  present  but  few  knew  more 
about  the  Prince  than  his  name  and  titles,  as  read  by 
the  President.  A  spectator  of  the  scene  described 
how  the  public  and  the  deputies  *  scrambled  '  to  get  a 
sight  of  a  photograph  of  the  Prince,  brought,  it  ap- 
peared, by  M.  Stoiloff  on  his  return  from  his  inter- 
view with  the  Prince  at  Ebenthal.  One  could  not  see 
it  clearly.  For  a  deluge  of  rain  turned  day  into  night, 
and  the  few  candles  procurable  were  required  for  the 
secretaries'  table.  Bulgaria,  on  this  occasion,  owed 
much  to  M.  Stoiloff 's  energy  and  common  sense. 
*  The  European  Powers,'  said  he,  *  have  a  duty  to 
discharge  to  Bulgaria,  as  well  as  rights  over  her.  If 
they  fail  to  perform  that  duty  by  agreeing  to  the  selec- 
tion of  a  Prince,  we  shall  proclaim  our  independence 
and  act  accordingly.' 

A  telegram  was  despatched  on  the  spot  to  the 
Prince,  announcing  his  election.  The  Prince's  reply 
was  as  follows  : — 


POWERS'  APPROVAL  FIRST  107 

*  I  am  both  proud  and  grateful  on  account  of  the  vote 
of  the  Great  Assembly,  which  has  elected  me  Prince 
of  Bulgaria,  and  I  hope  to  prove  myself  worthy  of  the 
confidence  of  the  noble  Bulgarian  nation.  I  am  ready 
to  respond  to  the  call  of  the  Great  Assembly  which 
elected  me  with  a  unanimity  which  has  deeply  moved 
me,  and  through  them  to  the  whole  Bulgarian  nation.' 
The  Prince's  telegram  was  distributed  the  same  day 
all  over  Bulgaria.  All  the  towns  and  villages  hoisted 
their  flags,  sent  their  congratulations  to  Tirnovo  and 
Sofia,  and  illuminated  their  streets.  The  general  ex- 
pectation was  that  the  Prince  would  at  once  proceed  to 
Tirnovo,  to  take  the  oath,  and  be  formally  installed. 
But,  save  the  telegram  above  quoted,  there  came  no  sign 
from  the  Prince .  The  Vienna  people  even  lost  sight  of 
him.  Some  said  he  had  disappeared  from  Ebenthal, 
others  that  he  was  invisible  at  Ebenthal,  and  hard  at 
work  getting  up  the  Bulgarian  language.  To  Vienna 
there  came  reports  from  Bulgaria  to  the  effect  that  the 
people  were '  grievously  disappointed  '  by  his  dilatori- 
ness.  Still,  the  Prince  could  hardly  start  for  Bulgaria 
before  the  arrival  of  the  delegation  that,  in  accordance 
with  custom,  had  been  despatched  to  report  to  him 
personally.  The  deputation  arrived  at  Ebenthal  on 
the  15th  July — eight  days  after  the  election.  In  the 
chateau,  an  unpretentious  country  house,  they  were 
courteously  received  by  the  Prince  and  his  mother. 
The  Princess  was  seated  *  at  an  old-fashioned  writing- 
table,  with  one  of  her  ladies-in-waiting.  The  Prince 
was  standing  beside  her,  in  evening  dress,  decorated 


io8  CZAR  FERDINAND 

with  the  Coburg  star.'  M.  Tontcheff  who,  as  already 
said,  was  President  of  the  Grand  Assembly,  read  in 
French  the  assembly's  resolution.  The  Prince  re- 
plied viva  voce  in  French,  and  then  read  it  in  Bul- 
garian. Clearly  the  Prince  had  been  making  the  best 
of  his  linguistic  capacity.  The  following  was  the 
Prince's  reply  : — 

*  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen, — I  note  with 
gratitude  the  resolution  which  you  bring  me.  I 
remain  faithful  to  my  promises  and  the  resolutions 
which  I  have  from  the  first  declared  to  the  nation 
that  has  elected  me.  If  I  were  free  to  follow  the 
impulse  of  my  heart,  I  should  hasten  to  go  among  you, 
to  place  myself  at  the  head  of  the  Bulgarian  nation, 
and  take  in  hand  the  reins  of  government.  But  the 
Prince-Elect  of  Bulgaria  must  respect  treaties.  This 
respect  will  form  the  strength  of  his  rule,  and  will 
assure  the  greatness  and  prosperity  of  the  Bulgarian 
nation.  I  hope  we  shall  succeed  in  justifying  the 
confidence  of  the  Sublime  Porte,  and  reconquering 
after  some  lapse  of  time  the  goodwill  of  Russia,  to 
whom  Bulgaria  is  indebted  for  her  political  emancipa- 
tion, and  to  whom  she  consequently  owes  a  debt  of 
gratitude.  I  hope  also  that  we  may  be  able  to  obtain 
the  approval  of  all  the  other  Great  Powers.  Trust  in 
me,  and  believe  in  my  devotion  to  your  country,  of 
which  I  hope  to  give  the  proof  when  I  consider  the 
fitting  moment  to  have  arrived.  Show  courage, 
prudence,  and  patriotic  union.  May  God  bless 
Bulgaria  and  send  her  a  brilliant  future  ! ' 


POWERS'  APPROVAL  FIRST  109 

The  foregoing  reply  clearly  means  that  the  Prince 
would,  before  proceeding  to  Bulgaria  and  assuming 
the  reins  of  government,  wait  for  the  approbation  of 
the  Porte  and  the  Powers.  But  according  to  the 
Russian  view  the  Prince  would  in  that  case  have  to 
wait  for  ever.  Russia,  it  was  authoritatively  ex- 
plained, had  *  no  objection  to  the  Prince  personally  ' : 
her  objection  was  that  the  Great  Assembly  had  acted 
illegally.  The  Prince  showed  in  his  reply  that  he 
was  in  no  hurry.  A  member  of  the  delegation, 
M.  Tchomakoff,  Minister  of  Public  Instruction, 
pressed  the  Prince  to  accompany  them  to  Tirnovo. 
The  Prince  politely  replied  he  had  nothing  to  add  to, 
or  alter  in,  what  he  had  already  said.  Two  possible 
courses  had  before  now  been  discussed — either  that 
the  Prince  should  go  to  Tirnovo  at  once,  take  the  oath, 
and  wait  for  the  Porte  and  the  Powers  to  *  recognise  ' 
him,  if  he  had  to  wait  for  years  ;  or,  while  accepting 
his  nomination  by  the  Grand  Assembly,  to  wait  for 
the  Powers'  ratification.  The  second  was  the  course 
he  indicated  in  his  chilly  speech  to  the  deputation. 
It  is  said  that  the  members  of  the  deputation  were 

*  not  very  favourably  impressed  by  their  host.'    His 

*  nervous  demeanour,'  his  *  pallor,'  surprised  them — 
as  if  they  had  expected  to  find  in  him  a  stalwart  fox- 
hunter.  The  day  after  the  Prince's  reply  to  the 
deputation,  the  Times  correspondent  had  with  him  a 
five  hours'  interview,  the  record  of  which  is  a  most 
interesting  and  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of 
modern  Bulgaria.    This  is  what  the  Prince  said  : — 


no  CZAR  FERDINAND 

*  I  am  quite  prepared  to  hear  that  my  answer  to 
the  deputation  has  caused  dissatisfaction  in  Bulgaria  ; 
but  this  dissatisfaction  will  have  arisen  because  strange 
hopes  were  raised  without  any  warrant  from  me. 
From  the  first  I  told  M.  Stoiloff  and  others  that  I 
would  not  posture  as  a  revolutionary  pretender.  My 
name,  the  traditions  of  my  family,  and  my  own  per- 
sonal convictions  oblige  me  to  take  my  stand  on  the 
principles  of  order  and  of  absolute  respect  for 
treaties.  I  did  not  seek  the  Bulgarian  crown  ;  it  was 
offered  me  with  the  assurance  that  I  could  do  much 
good  in  the  country.  The  mission  was  a  noble  one 
which  tempted  me,  and  I  accepted  it,  promising  to 
devote  my  life  to  its  fulfilment ;  but  this  was  on  the 
clearly  expressed  condition  that  I  should  go  to  Bul- 
garia invested  with  authority  which  could  not  be 
challenged.  Having  been  elected,  I  shall  now  do  my 
best  to  obtain  recognition  from  the  Great  Powers  ; 
and  it  may  be  that  I  shall  go  to  St.  Petersburg,  but 
this  is  not  yet  certain.  What  Europe  may  take  for 
certain  is  that  I  shall  not  let  myself  be  enticed  into 
any  course  which  would  widen  the  estrangement 
between  Russia  and  Bulgaria,  and  add  to  the  confusion 
of  parties  in  the  latter  country.' 

The  Prince's  second  statement  is  even  more 
pointed  than  the  first.  The  Prince's  respect  for 
international  treaties  is  '  absolute  ' :  without  the 
Powers'  previous  ratification  of  the  nation's  choice 
he  would  not  go  to  Bulgaria  ;  meanwhile  he  would 
strive  for  recognition,  and  he  might  even  go  to  St, 


POWERS'  APPROVAL  FIRST  iii 

Petersburg  to  obtain  it.  In  this  remarkable  interview 
with  the  Times  correspondent,  the  Prince  showed 
that  he  was  more  favourably  impressed  by  his  Bul- 
garian visitors  than  they  by  him.  They  were  digni- 
fied :  they  did  not  *  gush.*  He  spoke  highly  of 
Majors  Popoff  and  Vinaroff,  whom  he  knew  to  be 
ardent  advocates  for  a  Battenberg  re-election,  but 
who,  simply  as  military  men  bound  to  obey  orders, 
had  come  reluctantly  with  the  deputation.  It  was,  he 
said,  the  sort  of  faithful  service  he  himself  would 
expect  were  he  their  lawful  Prince. 

The  Prince,  says  the  same  authority,  was  surprised 
at  his  not  having  received  a  message  from  Prince 
Alexander,  once  his  personal  friend.  The  ex- ruler's 
silence  was  to  him  '  inexplicable.'  *  If  Prince  Alex- 
ander really  feels  any  interest  in  Bulgaria,  he  ought 
to  say  so,'  Prince  Ferdinand  argued, '  and  to  assist  his 
successor  in  the  task  which  he  cannot  or  will  not 
undertake  himself.'  The  Prince's  visitor  was  struck 
with  the  Prince's  shrewdness,  his  wide  knowledge  of 
European  politics,  and  the  good-humour  of  his  judg- 
ment on  men  and  things.  Of  the  Prince's  zeal  in  the 
cause  of  Bulgaria,  of  his  fitness  for  the  task  he  had 
undertaken,  his  visitor  had  no  doubt.  The  Prince 
appears  to  have  been  more  at  ease,  more  affable,  more 
confidential  in  a  tete-d-tete  informal  conversation  with 
a  visitor  or  two  than  with  the  assembled  body  of  them. 
For  instance,  he  was  reported  to  have  said,  in  a  jocular 
vein,  that  Prince  Alexander  was  a  greater  hindrance 
to  the  settlement  of  the  Bulgarian  question  than  the 


112  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Powers  and  the  Sublime  Porte  put  together.  It  was 
in  allusion  to  Prince  Alexander's  vague  replies  (as  they 
sometimes  were)  to  the  offers  from  Sofia.  He  ap- 
peared to  be  confident  that  in  *  a  week  or  two  '  Russia 
would  withdraw  her  opposition  to  his  election.  In 
the  course  of  the  five  days  during  which  the  Bulgarian 
deputation  remained  in  Vienna,  the  Prince  had  several 
conversations  with  three  of  its  members  on  the  ques- 
tion supposed  to  have  been  settled  at  the  interview  of 
the  15th,  namely,  his  immediate  departure  to  take  the 
oath  at  Tirnovo.  When  asked  if  he  would  go,  in  the 
event  of  Russia's  giving  him  a  personal,  categorical 
refusal,  he  replied  that  it  was  his  heartfelt  wish  to 
comply  with  the  deputation's  request.  It  was  a  vague 
reply,  but  it  showed  some  sign  of  relenting  from  his 
earlier,  intransigeant  position.  The  military  members 
of  the  deputation.  Majors  Vinaroff  and  Popoff,  laid 
regular  siege  to  His  Highness.  All  three  being  mili- 
tary officers,  they  had  some  feeling  of  comradeship — 
while,  as  yet,  the  Prince  was  but  the  Prince-Elect  of 
an  assembly  which,  instead  of  first  recommending  him 
to  the  Porte  and  the  Powers,  and  waiting  for  their 
approval,  chose  him  for  their  ruler,  and  invited  recog- 
nition, not  minding  much  whether  they  received  it  or 
not.  And  so  in  one  of  these  informal  talks,  the  two 
Bulgarian  officers — partisans  of  Prince  Alexander 
though  they  were — assured  the  Prince  that,  if  he  ac- 
companied them  to  Tirnovo,  the  Bulgarian  people 
would  stand  by  him  to  a  man,  even  if  the  '  national 
hero ' — Alexander  of  Slivnitza,  Dragoman  and  Pirot 


POWERS  APPROVAL  FIRST  113 

— were  to  reappear  ;  that  the  army,  though  it  loved 
Alexander,  would  prove  true  to  the  Prince  whom  the 
National  Assembly  had  chosen.  '  The  Bulgarian 
army  cannot  swear  by  you  before  it  sees  you  and 
knows  you,'  Major  Vinaroff  went  on,  in  his  country- 
men's outright  fashion  :  '  Popoff  and  I  have  risked 
our  lives  in  Prince  Alexander's  defence,  we  have 
fought  with  him,  we  have  met  with  constant  kindness 
from  him,  and  we  cannot  cease  to  admire  and  love 
him  ;  but  as  Prince,  elected  by  our  nation,  you  have 
a  right  to  our  obedience,  and  it  shall  not  fail  you.'  ^ 
It  will  have  been  seen  that  the  fear  of  Russia,  quite 
apart  from  the  commendable  anxiety  to  obtain  her 
recognition,  obsessed  the  mind  of  Prince  Ferdinand. 
The  two  Bulgarian  officers  were  alive  to  the  fact. 
They  were  also  violently  anti-Russian.  And  in  speak- 
ing for  themselves  on  this  subject,  they  spoke  for  the 
entire  Bulgarian  nation.  Russia,  they  declared,  was, 
for  her  own  selfish  ends,  fomenting  discord  in  Bul- 
garia ;  she  was,  of  set  purpose,  enslaving  the  country 
she  had  liberated  ;  she  had  substituted  the  knout  for 
the  kourbash  ;  she  would  not  recognise  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand even  if  he  grovelled  in  the  dust  at  her  feet.  It  is 
pretty  certain  that  this  appeal  determined,  in  a  large 
measure,  the  decisive  step  which  the  Prince  took  three 
weeks  later,  to  the  amusement  rather  than  the  sur- 
prise of  the  Viennese  people,  and  the  wrath  and  dis- 
gust of  the  Russian  press.  It  is  said  that  Princess 
Clementine    was    present    during    the    impassioned 

^   Times  correspondent. 
H 


114  CZAR  FERDINAND 

pleading  of  the  two  Bulgarian  officers,  and  that  the 
effect  of  her  complete  concurrence  with  their  reason- 
ings was  then  manifest  in  the  Prince's  demeanour. 
The  Princess  was  more  quick-witted,  had  more 
imagination,  than  her  son,  and  greater  daring.  It 
could  not  be  said  of  her  what  was  at  that  period  often 
said  of  the  Prince,  that  she  was  *  not  of  heroic  mould.' 
She  was  a  heroine  born  out  of  due  time.  The  very 
danger  supposed  to  exist  in  Bulgaria  during  this  crisis 
was,  in  her  estimation,  the  strongest  inducement  to 
undertake  the  *  risk ' ;  to  face  it  without  delay,  the 
surest  means  of  winning  immediate  and  boundless 
popularity.  Courage  was  one  of  the  virtues  indis- 
solubly  bound  up  in  Princess  Clementine's  idea  of 
kingship.  It  was  Prince  Alexander's  courage  that,  in 
the  eyes  of  his  Bulgarian  subjects,  atoned  for  all  his 
faults.  To  the  Bulgarian  envoys  the  Prince's  hesita- 
tion was  well-nigh  incomprehensible.  If  he  did  not 
know  that  Russia's  opposition  was  absolutely  insuper- 
able, he  ought  to  have  known ;  in  other  words,  he 
ought  either  to  have  refused  the  offer  of  the  Bulgarian 
throne,  or,  having  accepted  it,  to  have  proceeded 
forthwith  to  Tirnovo.  A  ruler  of  Bulgaria  was 
elected,  a  deputy  was  reported  to  have  said  in  his 
and  his  mother's  presence,  not  for  Russia's  pleasure, 
but  for  Bulgaria's  good.  A  final  argument  addressed 
to  the  Prince  was  to  the  effect  that  a  continuance  of 
his  deferential  attitude  to  Russia  must  lower  his 
popularity,  render  him  even  suspect,  in  Bulgaria, 
where  the  anti- Russian  feeling  had  grown  so  strong 


POWERS  APPROVAL  FIRST  115 

that,  in  the  words  of  a  Bulgarian  commandant,  the 
intrusion  of  another  Russian  officer  into  the  Bulgarian 
army  would  provoke  a  mutiny.  Although,  as  already 
said,  these  considerations  appeared  to  have  produced 
an  impression  upon  the  Prince,  the  Tirnovo  deputies 
were  in  a  somewhat  crestfallen  mood  when,  on  the 
20th  July,  they  left  Vienna  for  Tirnovo. 


XV 

CORONATION  FIRST,  APPROVAL  WHETHER  OR  NOT 

There  followed  eighteen  days  of  journalistic,  *  offi- 
cial *  and  '  semi-official,'  and  *  officious  '  babblement, 
in  Austria,  Germany,  and  Russia,  on  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand's intentions.  Even  at  this  distance  of  time  it 
is  amusing  to  read.  *  Authoritative  *  announcements 
that  Prince  Ferdinand  would  renounce  the  Bulgarian 
throne  were  contradicted  on  authority  as  conclusive. 
Next  it  leaked  out — in  printer's  ink,  at  least — that 
certain  tailors  had  received  orders  to  get  ready  with- 
out delay  Bulgarian  uniforms  for  the  Prince  and  his 
aide-de-camp,  including  a  general's  uniform  for  His 
Highness.  Clearly,  the  Prince  was  about  to  start  for 
Tirnovo.  Reporters  went  prowling  about,  in  vain 
search  of  the  tailors.  From  St.  Petersburg  came  the 
alarming  news  that  a  Russian  provisional  government 
for  Bulgaria  was  about  to  be  established,  as  had 
been  done  after  the  Russo-Turkish  War  and  before 
Prince  Alexander's  appointment ;  and  that  after  the 
temporary  officials  had  done  their  work.  Prince 
Imeritinski,  a  Russian  nominee,  would  be  made 
Prince  of  Bulgaria.  Wild  rumours  of  a  Bulgarian 
plan  to  set  up  a  republic  were  spread  abroad.  But 
when,  at  the  end  of  July,  it  became  known  that  the 
Bulgarian  Foreign  Minister  was  on  his  way  to  Vienna, 
the  Austrian  press  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  he 


CORONATION  FIRST  117 

had  come  by  pre-arrangement  to  fetch  the  laggard 
Prince  Ferdinand.  The  reporters  lay  in  ambush 
about  Ebenthal  for  M.  Natchevitch,  the  said  min- 
ister, but  no  M.  Natchevitch  was  to  be  seen.  Yet 
M.  Natchevitch  was  at  Ebenthal,  and  with  him 
Dr.  Strausky,  the  Bulgarian  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
whose  duty  it  would  be  to  provide  for  the  Prince's 
journey  through  his  new  dominions.  There  could  be 
no  longer  any  doubt  concerning  Prince  Ferdinand's 
intentions,  when  the  telegraph  announced  that  the 
Bulgarian  regents  and  the  ministers  were  assembling 
at  Rustchuk,  on  the  Danube,  that  they  had  a  yacht 
there  in  readiness,  and  that  a  company  of  people, 
known  to  be  members  of  the  Prince's  household,  had 
started  for  Bulgaria.  On  the  loth  of  August  Vienna 
learnt  that  the  Prince  himself  had  left. 

The  Prince,  his  mother,  and  the  few  persons  who 
were  to  accompany  him  took  every  precaution  to  keep 
the  hour  and  circumstances  of  his  departure  a  dead 
secret.  To  say  nothing  of  diplomatic  curiosity,  and 
the  possibility  of  sensational  incidents  on  the  way — 
the  Prince  might  be  kidnapped,  or  worse  might  befall 
him,  for  Russia's  agents,  as  he  was  well  aware,  were 
lurking  about  everywhere — his  prospective  election 
had  before  now  subjected  him  to  the  persiflage  of 
many  of  his  exalted  friends  in  Vienna.  Bismarck's 
encouragement  to  Prince  Alexander  of  Battenberg 
was  quoted  for  his  edification :  *  Accept  it.  It  will 
be  an  interesting  reminiscence  for  your  after  life.'  It 
is  alleged  that  Prince  Ferdinand  could  not  easily 


ii8  CZAR  FERDINAND 

suffer  what  the  English  call  *  chaff.'  So  the  departure 
from  Vienna  had  to  be  made  as  unostentatiously  as 
possible. 

Of  the  many  written  accounts  of  the  journey, 
M.  Alexandre  Hepp's,  though  inaccurate  in  some 
details,  is  perhaps  the  most  concise.  Before  starting. 
Prince  Ferdinand,  who  is  a  good  Catholic,  went  to 
early  Mass — ^four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  His  fellow- 
travellers  to  Bulgaria  were  present  at  the  ceremony  : 
among  them  were  M.  Grenaud,  his  valued  and  devoted 
friend ;  Count  Bourboulon,  and  hofrath  Fleichman ; 
his  secretary,  M.  Dimitri  Stancioff,  and  one  or  two 
more.  M.  Stancioff  deserves  a  passing  notice.  The 
circumstances  of  his  first  connection  with  Prince  Fer- 
dinand were  an  illustration  of  His  Highness 's  prompt 
way  of  going  ahead  once  his  mind  was  made  up. 
During  negotiations  with  the  Regency,  the  Prince 
sought  for  a  trustworthy,  capable  native  Bulgarian  to 
assist  him  in  the  composition  and  translation  of  his 
correspondence  with  the  Sofia  government.  At  this 
time  the  Prince  knew  not  a  word  of  his  future  subjects' 
language.  He  chose  a  young  Bulgarian  student, 
M.  Dimitri  Stancioff,  who  had  just  finished  his  studies 
at  the  Maria  Theresa  Institute,  Vienna.  He  found  in 
him  a  most  able  and  devoted  servant.  M.  Stancioff 
it  was  who  gave  the  Prince  his  first  lessons  in  the 
Bulgarian  language.  He  found  in  the  Prince  an 
amazingly  quick  pupil.  M.  Stancioff  eventually 
became  his  old  pupil's  Foreign  Minister. 

To  follow  M.  Alexandre  Hepp's  account,  the 


CORONATION  FIRST  119 

Prince  and  his  followers  travelled  by  a  second-class 
carriage  to  Orsova,  on  the  Danube.  There  the 
Prince  and  his  party  went  aboard  the  small  steamer, 
the  Orient,  belonging  to  an  Austrian  company.  Next 
the  Bulgarian  yacht  above-named,  conveying  the 
regents  and  their  ministers,  came  up  with  them. 
Decorated  with  the  Bulgarian  colours,  the  little  craft 
was  the  same  as  that  in  which  Prince  Alexander  of 
Battenberg  had  been  carried  when  kidnapped  by  the 
Russian  and  pro-Russian  conspirators — in  which,  as 
the  Prince  himself  put  it,  he  was  *  bundled  out  of  the 
country  '  he  had  been  called  in  to  govern.  It  deserves 
to  be  recorded  that  the  yacht  was  Czar  Alexander  the 
Third's  gift  to  Prince  Alexander,  then  his  trusted 
nominee,  but  soon  to  become  the  object  of  his  un- 
appeasable anger.  There  were  some  who  surmised 
that  the  little  craft  might  some  day  be  employed  to 

*  bundle '  the  *  Coburger '  himself  out  of  Bulgaria. 
In  fact,  no  sooner  had  the  Prince  reached  Orsova  than 
he  was  apprised  of  schemes  already  laid  to  kidnap  him 
or  to  murder  him.  It  was  said  that  he  was  more 
amused  than  alarmed  at  the  news.  The  little  yacht 
should  be  preserved  as  a  perpetual  memorial  of  Bul- 
garia's early  struggles  for  existence.  On  board  the 
yacht  the  Prince  held  his  first  council,  had  his  first 
serious  conversation  with  Stambouloff,  the  rude, 
arrogant  man  of  genius  who  was  to  govern  his  master 
through  several  stormy  years. 

Prince  Ferdinand  first  touched  the  soil  of  his 

*  nouvelle  patrie '  at  the  Danubian  town  of  Widin,  the 


120  CZAR  FERDINAND 

headquarters,  but  nine  short  years  ago,  of  a  Turkish 
PashaUc,  whose  Christian  population  dared  not  call 
their  souls  their  own.  At  Widin  the  distinguished 
party  were  photographed — by  authority,  not  *  snap- 
shotted '  by  an  evasive  interloper.  The  whole  party — 
those  from  Tirnovo,  and  from  Vienna — stood  in  a  row, 
with  the  Prince,  tallest  man  among  them,  erect,  calm, 
and  stately,  near  the  middle.  They  were  in  uniform 
— or  as  nearly,  under  the  circumstances,  as  they  could 
be ;  for  they  had  come  in  a  hurry.  Some  were  in 
frock-coats  and  white  ties  (not  unlike  parsons),  others 
in  the  regulation  '  swallow-tail,'  with  neckties  black 
or  white  according  to  the  wearer's  luck.  Count 
de  Grenaud  was  conspicuous  in  a  white  waistcoat; 
M.  Stambouloff,  though  he  hated  ceremonial  man- 
millinery,  was  impeccably  '  correct,'  but  he  looked 
bored  ;  General  Moutkouroff,  one  of  the  regents,  was 
in  full  military  attire  ;  so  was  the  Prince,  with  his 
many  decorations,  and  white  astrakhan  cap  adorned 
with  a  tall  white  shako.  Considering  the  haste  in 
which  their  wardrobes  had  been  collected,  the 
illustrious  group  presented  a  quite  respectable 
appearance. 

The  moment  he  landed  at  Widin  the  news  was 
flashed  to  Sofia,  the  garrison  of  which,  came  the  reply, 
proclaimed  the  event  in  a  salute  of  '  a  hundred  and 
one  guns,'  a  sovereign  salute,  showing  at  what  value 
the  rulers  of  the  Bulgarian  nation  estimated  '  vener- 
ated '  treaties.  And  yet  Prince  Ferdinand's  first  act — 
after  the  formal  reception  on  Bulgarian  soil  was  over 


CORONATION  FIRST  121 

— ^was  to  despatch  a  loyal,  courteous  message  to  his 
*  suzerain,'  the  Sultan,  whose  approval  he  hoped  to 
receive.  It  is  related  that  the  Sultan  was  much  grati- 
fied by  his  '  vassal's  '  submissiveness,  and  that  if  His 
Imperial  Majesty's  views  alone  were  in  question,  the 
Tirnovo  election  would  soon  have  been,  if  not  formally 
ratified,  at  least  acknowledged,  by  the  simple  expe- 
dient of  permission  to  the  diplomatic  agents  in  Sofia 
to  present  themselves  to  the  Prince  in  their  official 
capacity.  Prince  Ferdinand  was  touched  by  the 
enthusiasm  of  his  welcome  to  the  Bulgarian  shores. 
Multitudes  of  the  peasantry  from  every  part  of  the 
province  trooped  into  the  town,  carrying  banners, 
and  singing  national  songs.  A  gigantic  arch  at  the 
entrance  to  the  town  bore  the  legend,  *  Bulgaria  joy- 
ously greets  you.  Her  happiness  is  in  your  hands. 
The  Bulgarian  army  and  people  will  be  with  you  in 
your  defence  of  the  nation's  independence.'  The 
religious  ceremony,  which  occupied  little  more  than 
ten  minutes,  was  deeply  impressive.  It  was  con- 
ducted by  the  Exarch  of  the  Bulgarian  Church,  who 
at  its  termination  pronounced  a  solemn  benediction 
upon  the  Prince.  At  Widin,  Prince  Ferdinand  issued 
his  first  public  proclamation.  It  was  read  in  French 
and  Bulgarian.  The  following  translation  of  it  ap- 
peared in  the  English  press  : — 

*  Having  been  elected  by  the  representatives  of  the  Bul- 
garian nation  as  its  sovereign,  I  regard  it  as  a  sacred  duty  to 
set  foot  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  on  the  soil  of  my  new 
country  and  to  consecrate  my  life  to  the  happiness,  greatness. 


122  CZAR  FERDINAND 

and  prosperity  of  my  dear  people.  From  the  bottom  of  my 
heart  I  thank  the  brave  Bulgarian  nation  for  the  feelings  of 
confidence  in  me,  and  of  devotion  and  fidelity  to  me  with 
which  it  is  animated.  I  am  fully  convinced  that  it  will  support 
me  in  my  efforts  to  render  our  country  great  and  flourishing, 
?ind  to  secure  a  future  full  of  honour  and  glory.' 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  this,  the  first  of  a  series 
of  proclamations  made  in  the  course  of  his  progress 
to  Tirnovo  and  Sofia,  there  is  no  mention  of  the 
Powers,  or  of  the  Czar  of  Russia  (for  whose  consent 
to  his  election  he  had  meditated  a  journey  to  St. 
Petersburg),  or  of  the  Sultan,  to  whom  he  telegraphed 
his  *  homage  and  devotion/  But  the  pro- Russian 
party  in  Sofia  had  not  forgotten  the  *  Czar  Liberator,' 
and  at  the  very  time  when  Prince  Ferdinand  and  his 
ministers  were  on  their  way  downstream  to  Rustchuk, 
the  head  of  the  party,  the  able,  eloquent,  and  not  too 
scrupulous  metropolitan.  Bishop  Clement,  in  the 
Cathedral  of  Sofia,  was  haranguing  a  vast  congrega- 
tion on  the  nation's  obligation  to  Russia.  This  was  at 
a  service  of  thanksgiving  for  the  new  Prince's  arrival. 
The  ministers  and  a  large  number  of  parliamentary 
deputies  were  present.  The  Bishop  urged  the  neces- 
sity of  *  reconciliation  '  with  the  Czar.  There  was 
more  reason  in  the  Bishop's  condemnation  of  tyran- 
nical acts  during  the  Regency.  The  price  of  free 
speech,  the  penalty  even  for  baseless  suspicion,  during 
the  Regency,  was,  said  the  Bishop,  imprisonment, 
banishment,  torture.  He  himself  had  been  com- 
pelled  to  take  flight  from  the   Nationalists.    The 


CORONATION  FIRST  123 

Svohoda^  anti-Russian  Stambouloff's  own  paper, 
promptly  took  the  Russophile  Bishop  to  task,  though 
in  language  less  menacing  than  was  habitual  with  it. 
The  Bishop  was  advised  to  leave  Prince  and  people 
to  conduct  their  own  business — which  was  no  concern 
of  Russia's.  An  ominous  little  incident,  as  if  a  whiff 
of  wind  had  thrown  a  tile  from  the  roof,  presaging  a 
tempest. 

1  'Liberty.' 


/ 


XVI 

PRINCE  TAKES  THE  OATH  AT  TIRNOVO 

At  Rustchuk,  where  his  river  voyage  came  to  an  end, 
and  where  a  great  many  deputies  from  Tirnovo 
awaited  his  arrival,  the  Prince's  reception  was  as 
cordial  as  it  had  been  at  Widin.  And  so  at  Sistovo, 
the  first  town  of  any  importance  on  his  way  inland. 
On  the  13th  of  August  Prince  Ferdinand  reached 
historic  Tirnovo.  The  streets  and  the  entire  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  old  Bulgarian  capital  were  packed 
with  crowds  of  enthusiastic  spectators.  The  foreign 
journalists,  who  had  preceded  the  Prince  or  followed 
him  from  the  port,  were  struck  with  the  perfect  order 
and  good-humour  of  the  populace.  The  gendarmes 
simply  looked  on  with  the  sympathetic  composure  of 
the  London  police  at  a  popular  demonstration.  There 
was  a  garrison  at  Tirnovo,  but  the  only  duty  they  had 
to  perform  was  to  supply  an  escort  for  their  future 
commander-in-chief,  while  those  who  were  off  duty 
found  their  places  among  the  onlookers.  The  Mayor 
of  Tirnovo  performed  the  time-honoured  ritual  of 
presenting  the  Prince-elect  with  bread  and  salt.  The 
Prince's  brief  reply  to  the  Mayor's  welcome  was  de- 
livered in  Bulgarian.  It  was  a  good  beginning.  And 
the  people  seemed  flattered  by  it. 

Next  came  the  ceremony,  the  taking  of  the  oath, 
from  which  Bulgaria  dates  a  new  epoch  in  her  eventful 


PRINCE  TAKES  OATH  AT  TIRNOVO    125 

history.  The  Assembly  Hall,  in  which  it  took  place, 
was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity.  But,  as  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  election  a  few  weeks  earlier,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  foreign  Powers  were  conspicuous  by 
their  absence.  Their  places  were  occupied  by  the 
representatives  of  the  European  press.  In  the  hall 
there  was  a  portrait  of  *  Alexander  the  beloved.'  It 
was  decorated  for  the  occasion.  It  was  remarked  that 
Prince  Ferdinand  gazed  intently  at  the  portrait  of  '  the 
Battenberger  '  (who,  as  already  recorded,  had  taken  no 
notice  of  his  old  friend's  adventure,  or,  as  many  still 
regarded  it,  misadventure). 

His  Highness  having  taken  the  constitutional  oath, 
M.  Stoiloff  rose,  and  read  the  Prince's  first  proclama- 
tion in  his  capacity  of  actual  ruler.    It  ran  as  follows : — 

*  We  Ferdinand  i.  by  the  Grace  of  God  and  the  wish  of 
the  people  Prince  of  Bulgaria.  On  the  solemn  occasion  of  our 
taking  oath  to  the  Grand  National  Assembly  we  announced 
to  our  well-beloved  people  that  we  assume  the  government  of 
the  country  and  that  we  will  rule  it  in  accordance  with  the 
Constitution  and  with  the  intent  to  promote  its  glory,  great- 
ness, and  development,  for  which  we  will  use  every  possible 
effort,  and  we  shall  at  all  times  be  ready  to  sacrifice  our  life 
to  its  happiness.  In  ascending  the  throne  of  the  famous 
Bulgarian  Czars  we  consider  it  our  sacred  duty  to  declare  our 
sincere  gratitude  to  the  gallant  Bulgarian  people  for  the  con- 
fidence they  have  displayed  towards  us  in  electing  us  Prince 
of  Bulgaria,  and  also  to  acknowledge  their  wise  and  patriotic 
conduct  during  the  difficult  times  through  which  the  country 
has  passed.  The  heroic  efforts  of  the  nation  to  protect  its 
independence,   honour,   and   interests   have   won   for    it   the 


ia6  CZAR  FERDINAND 

sympathy  of  the  whole  civilised  world,  and  have  inspired 
every  one  with  faith  in  its  vital  force,  which  merits  a  brilliant 
future. 

*  Long  live  free  and  independent  Bulgaria ! 

*  Ferdinand  i.' 

A  proclamation,  startling  in  its  boldness,  meant 
for  Europe  even  more  than  Bulgaria  the  tearing  of 
another  rent  in  a  *  venerated  '  treaty  already  well 
tattered.  It  contained  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  the 
European  Powers.  In  its  praise  of  the  nation's  con- 
duct during  the  prolonged  crisis  of  Alexander's  reign 
and  the  Regency,  it  was  an  indirect,  yet  wholesale, 
condemnation  of  Russia's  treatment  of  Bulgaria.  The 
mere  word  *  independence  '  spoke  volumes.  But  the 
proclamation  contained  one  or  two  inaccuracies.  His 
Highness  was  not  ascending  the  throne  of  the  Bul- 
garian czars,  but  a  far  less  imposing  one.  To  the 
point  at  which  the  history  of  new  Bulgaria  had  arrived, 
the  chief  resemblance  between  the  ancient  throne  and 
the  modern  one  lay  in  their  instability.  Nor  can  it  be 
admitted  that  the  Prince  was  altogether  right  in  de- 
claring that  Bulgaria's  fight  for  independence  had  won 

*  the  sympathy  of  the  civilised  world.'  Unless,  of 
course,  he  meant  to  exclude  Russians  and  Turks  from 

*  the  civilised  world  ' — a  point  of  view  for  which 
there  was  much  to  be  said.  But  the  new  ruler  hit  the 
nail  on  the  head  when  he  spoke  of  the  *  vital  force  ' 
of  the  Bulgarian  people.  From  the  days  of  Aspar- 
ouch,  the  first  Bulgar  king,  twelve  hundred  years  ago, 
through  the  ages  of  apparent  death  under  the  Turk's 


PRINCE  TAKES  OATH  AT  TIRNOVO    127 

heel  to  this  hour,  the  Bulgarian  question  has  been  a 
question  of  that  mysterious  force,  national  *  vitality  ' 
— the  *  vital  force '  of  the  mummy  wheat,  to  which 
illustrative  reference  has  been  made  in  a  foregoing 
page  ;  of  the  oak  sapling  which,  if  you  plant  it  in  a 
tub,  and  leave  it  there  to  its  fate,  will  by  and  by  burst 
its  bonds.  The  Bulgar  tub  was  secured  with  a  hoop 
marked  *  Berlin  Treaty/ 

In  the  Prince's  proclamation  the  *  Czar's  throne ' 
and  the  *  vital  force '  may  be  linked  together.  In  1887 
there  were  Bulgarian  patriots  who  foresaw  the  restora- 
tion of  the  old  czardom.  The  Prince's  description 
of  his  new  throne  was  a  prophecy,  which  received  its 
fulfilment,  also  on  the  same  historic  spot,  on  the  5th 
October  1908,  when  he  proclaimed  the  absolute  in- 
dependence of  Bulgaria  and  assumed  the  royal  title. 

It  seized  the  imagination  of  the  assembled  multi- 
tude. So  at  least  it  seemed  when  in  a  moment  of 
inspiration — the  happiest  in  the  course  of  his  progress 
towards  Sofia — he  suddenly  sprang  up  and  repeated 
in  a  loud,  resounding  voice,  in  Bulgarian,  the  last 
words  of  the  proclamation  which  M.  Stoiloff  had  just 
read  :  '  Long  live  free  and  independent  Bulgaria ! ' 
The  effect  was  instantaneous,  tremendous.  The 
audience  leaped  to  their  feet.  '  Long  live  free  and 
independent  Bulgaria !'  they  shouted  again  and  again. 
The  ladies  in  the  galleries  waved  their  handkerchiefs 
and  joined  in  the  cry.  Many  of  them  wept.  Tears 
ran  down  the  cheeks  of  many  a  stalwart  member  of  the 
assembly.    People  shook  hands  and  embraced.    And 


128  CZAR  FERDINAND 

yet  Bulgaria  was  not,  in  the  legal  sense,  either  *  free  * 
or  '  independent.*  Northern  Bulgaria  was  still  a 
tributary  state ;  she  formed  part  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire.  And  as  regards  Southern  Bulgaria,  other- 
wise Eastern  Roumelia,  Prince  Ferdinand,  if  he  should 
be  recognised  by  the  Porte,  would  be  simply  her 
governor-general — a  pasha,  in  fact.  But  the  logic  of 
things  was  too  strong  for  the  verbiage  of  indefensible 
and  immoral  treaties,  in  the  formation  of  which  this 

*  vitally  forceful '  nation,  now  wide  awake,  had  had 
no  part.    Bulgaria  was  from  that  moment  virtually 

*  free  and  independent.*  All  that  remained  for  her 
to  do  was  to  extricate  herself  from  the  wreck  of  her 
extraneous  entanglements.  But  the  extrication  would 
require  patience  and  tactful  handling. 

If  not  the  man  of  the  time  (his  competence  had 
still  to  be  tested).  Prince  Ferdinand  was  certainly  the 
man  of  the  hour.  As  he  left  the  Assembly  Hall  a 
crowd  of  deputies  surrounded  him  and  bore  him 
shoulder-high  to  his  carriage.  The  people  outside, 
the  moment  he  appeared,  knelt  before  him.  The 
same  note  of  *  freedom  and  independence  *  pervaded 
Prince  Ferdinand's  various  addresses  during  his 
two  days'  halt  at  the  picturesque  old  capital ;  for 
example,  at  the  banquet  given  to  him  by  the  com- 
mander and  officers  of  the  garrison.  As  already  said. 
Prince  Alexander  was  beloved  in  the  Bulgarian  army. 
His  successor,  well  aware  of  this,  and  generously 
appreciating  his  entertainers'  regard  for  the  ex-ruler, 
took  the   opportunity   of  expressing   his   profound 


PRINCE  TAKES  OATH  AT  TIRNOVO    129 

esteem  for  him,  and  his  desire  to  perpetuate  the 
remembrance  of  his  services  as  a  soldier  and  organiser. 
At  the  same  banquet  Prince  Ferdinand  declared  that 
the  Regency  deserved  the  people's  gratitude  for  its 
victorious  guidance  through  perils  that  threatened  the 
state  from  within  and  from  without.  His  laudation  of 
the  Regency  was  a  rebuke  to  Russia.  The  idea  of 
*  Bulgaria  for  the  Bulgarians  '  was  again  implied  in 
tfie  formal  address  which,  in  his  capacity  of  com- 
mander-in-chief, he  issued  to  the  army.  In  that 
address  he  alluded  to  the  *  foreign '  attempts  that  had 
been  made  to '  undermine '  the  fidelity  of  the  country's 
defenders,  and  he  expressed  his  conviction  that  the 
nation's  '  freedom  and  honour '  would  in  spite  of 
them  remain  unimpaired.  Prince  Ferdinand  would 
have  been  fairly  justified  in  summing  up  the  results 
of  his  achievement  at  Tirnovo  in  Caesar's  (pleonastic) 
message,  *  Veni,  vidi,  vici.' 

Notwithstanding  the  summer  heat,  the  Prince's 
journey  from  Tirnovo  to  Philippopolis  was  a  continu- 
ous delight.  His  company  filled  a  long  line  of  car- 
riages. Two  squadrons  of  cavalry  from  Tirnovo 
escorted  it.  Prince  Ferdinand  was  in  a  radiant  mood. 
The  cavalcade  halted  at  the  Shipka  Pass  for  a  lei- 
surely inspection  of  the  scene  of  one  of  the  hardest 
combats  in  the  War  of  Liberation.  It  was  remarked 
that  Prince  Ferdinand  seemed  to  know  the  place,  and 
all  the  incidents  of  the  storming  of  the  position  by  the 
Russians,  as  well  as  if  he  had  been  '  in  it.'  At  every 
village  to  the  capital  of  Southern  Bulgaria  the  country- 


130  CZAR  FERDINAND 

people  were  congregated  to  welcome  their  new  ruler. 
At  last — Philippopolis,  the  beautiful  capital  of  the 
province,  boasting  itself,  because  of  its  hills,  a  Lilli- 
putian Rome  or  Byzantium.  The  Philippopolitans 
allege  there  are  seven,  though  an  impartial  stranger's 
scrutiny  would  fail  to  discover  as  many.  The  Prince 
had  observed  a  change  in  the  appearance  and  char- 
acter of  the  people,  as  well  as  of  the  landscape,  during 
his  progress  from  Rustchuk.  The  northern  towns 
and  villages,  even  after  nine  years,  seemed  to  have 
retained  traces  of  the  Turkish  gloom.  But  Philip- 
popolis appeared  to  be  as  gay  and  well-conditioned  as 
if  no  Turk  had  ever  been  in  it. 

Glowing  but  not  exaggerated  reports  of  the 
Prince's  reception  at  Tirnovo  had  been  circulated  in 
and  around  Philippopolis.  The  officers  and  soldiers 
of  the  garrison  were  jubilant.  Deputations  from 
various  parts  of  the  province  came  to  wish  Prince 
Ferdinand  *  Godspeed.'  They  carried  flags  inscribed 
with  the  legends,  *  Free  Bulgaria ! '  *  Long  life  to  our 
Prince ! '  *  Let  all  the  Bulgarians  unite  ! '  The  last- 
named  inscription  had  reference  either  to  the  scheme, 
attributed  to  Russia,  of  replacing  Southern  Bulgaria 
under  Turkish  rule,  or  to  the  liberation  of  that  large 
portion  of  the  Bulgarian  race  inhabiting  Macedonia 
and  Thrace,  and  abandoned  to  the  Turks,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Berlin  Treaty.  The  European  consuls 
in  Philippopolis,  inquiring  if  the  Prince  would  grant 
them  an  audience,  were  informed  that  he  would  grant 
it  with  pleasure  if  they  presented  themselves  officially 


A    PROSPEROUS   BULGARIAN   PEASANT  WOMAN 
OF   TIRNOVO 


PRINCE  TAKES  OATH  AT  TIRNOVO    131 

— which  they  were  precluded  from  doing.  A  curious 
instance  of  the  international  stringency  on  this  point 
of  official  recognition  came  to  light  in  the  incident  of 
the  Catholic  bishop's  use  of  the  French  flag.  The 
bishop,  not  considering  himself  bound  by  diplomatic 
law,  hoisted  the  French  flag,  alleging  that  he  was 
justified  in  so  doing  by  the  fact  that  France  was  the 
recognised  protectress  of  Christians  in  the  East. 
Such,  however,  was  not  the  French  consul's  view. 
The  consul  reluctantly  interfered,  and  the  French 
flag  was  hauled  down. 


XVII 

THE  PRINCE'S  CAVALCADE :  EUROPEAN  HUBBUB 

On  the  22nd  August  Prince  Ferdinand  left  Philippo- 
polis.  At  Ichtiman,  where  he  was  entertained  by  the 
civil  and  military  authorities,  began  the  last  stage  of 
his  journey,  a  short  one,  to  Sofia.  The  cavalcade  was 
now  drawn  up  in  ceremonial  order.  A  four-horse 
carriage  had  arrived  from  the  capital  for  the  Prince's 
use.  Twenty  other  carriages  were  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  ministers,  deputies,  and  newspaper  corre- 
spondents. The  cavalcade  halted  at  a  spot  two  and  a 
half  miles  from  the  city.  There  he  was  received  by 
the  military  commandant  and  the  Prefect  of  Sofia. 
At  this  point  the  Prince,  leaving  his  carriage,  mounted 
his  horse  and  rode  ahead,  preceded  by  a  troop  of 
cavalry  and  some  of  the  city  officials.  Another  troop 
with  the  line  of  carriages  followed  in  the  rear.  On  one 
side  of  the  road  infantry  were  drawn  up.  On  the 
other  the  townspeople  in  their  thousands,  the  chil- 
dren occupying  a  prominent  position.  At  a  great 
arch  erected  close  by  the  Parliament  House  the  Mayor 
of  Sofia  made  the  traditional  offering  of  bread  and 
salt,  followed  by  a  short  speech,  to  which  the  Prince 
replied  : — 

*  I  have  come  to  Bulgaria  in  response  to  the  wishes  of  its 

people,  and  in  conformity  with  my  promises.     I  appeal  to  the 

feelings  of  union  and  patriotism  which  animate  the  Bulgarians 
tat 


THE  PRINCE'S  CAVALCADE  133 

for  aid  in  the  task  which  I  have  undertaken.  I  shall  loyally 
undertake  to  conciliate  the  suzerain  court  and  produce  good 
relations  between  Turkey  and  Bulgaria.' 

It  appeared  to  be  the  first  occasion  on  which  he 
had  spoken  of  *  the  suzerain  court/  There  were 
many  Turks — ^good,  loyal  citizens — among  his  hearers. 

The  streets  through  which  the  procession  passed 
were  tastefully  ornamented  with  flags,  trophies  of  the 
Russo-Turkish  War  (in  which,  as  already  mentioned, 
Bulgar  volunteers  served  in  the  Russian  army),  and 
of  the  Servian  War,  the  first  European  war  which 
Bulgaria  waged  with  her  own  resources  and  on  her 
own  account.  Pennons,  stretched  across  the  streets 
high  overhead,  and  adorned  with  the  Bulgarian  lion, 
bore  in  huge  letters  patriotic  mottoes,  chiefly  on  the 
*  union  '  of  *  all '  the  Bulgarias.  But  it  was  the 
variety  of  physical  types  and  of  costume  among  the 
applauding  crowds  that  must  have  arrested  a  stranger's 
attention.  In  the  Sofia  region  alone  there  are  many 
such  varieties,  indicated  also  by  some  more  or  less 
pronounced  shade  of  difference  in  dialect.  It  was 
easy  to  distinguish  the  Macedonian  citizens  of  Sofia. 
For  one  thing,  their  features  were  generally  more 
regular,  more  European,  than  the  Northern  Bulgar's. 
The  native  peasant  wives  and  girls,  with  their  elabor- 
ately embroidered  tunics,  their  hair  falling  in  numer- 
ous thin  plaits  down  to  their  waists,  and  ornaments 
of  silver  coins,  made  an  appearance  more  curious 
and  picturesque  than  graceful.  Their  husbands  and 
male  relatives,  in  sheepskin  jackets,  open  over  their 


134  CZAR  FERDINAND 

bronzed  chests,  were  a  striking  contrast  with  their 
soldier  fellow-citizens,  faultlessly  smart  in  their  grey 
uniforms  fashioned  on  the  Russian  model.  Looking 
upon  the  countryfolk,  one  was  reminded  of  the  name 
which  Sofia  bore  in  classical  times.  And  Serdica  was 
so  called  from  the  Thracian  people,  the  Serdi,  the  first 
known  inhabitants  of  the  region.  Thracians,  early 
Slavs,  Bulgars,  each  in  turn  were  driven  by  new 
invaders  into  the  remote  places  whence  thousands  of 
these  peasant-folk,  their  descendants,  had  journeyed 
to  Sofia  to  witness  the  Prince's  entry.  But  whatever 
their  lineage,  they  were  moved  by  one  overpowering 
sentiment — the  sentiment  of  a  common  nationality, 
crystallised  during  the  nine  years  since  the  war  into 
an  absolute  creed.  They  had  been  subjected  to  no 
official  pressure.  They  had  come  of  their  own 
accord.  *  Long  live  our  Prince ! '  they  shouted,  in  one 
voice  with  the  townspeople,  when  His  Highness  dis- 
mounted at  the  cathedral  steps,  where  the  clergy  of 
all  the  religious  faiths — Orthodox,  Roman  Catholic, 
Exarchist,  Moslem,  Jewish,  Protestant — were  assem- 
bled. At  the  entrance  to  the  cathedral  the  Prince  was 
received  by  the  metropolitan,  Clement.  He  took  his 
seat  on  a  throne,  placed  on  a  platform  raised  above 
the  floor  level,  opposite  the  bishop's.  True  to  the 
promise  he  had  made  to  the  officers  at  Tirnovo  re- 
specting his  predecessor's  memory.  Prince  Ferdinand 
wore  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  Order  of  Bravery,  an 
order  instituted  by  Prince  Alexander.  The  same 
decoration  was  worn  by  those  of  the  military  officers 


THE  PRINCE'S  CAVALCADE  135 

present  who  had  served  in  the  Servian  campaign  of 
three  years  ago.  The  Te  Deum  concluded,  the 
metropoHtan  bishop  addressed  the  Prince  in  the 
following  words  : — 

*  Welcome,  royal  Prince!  The  Bulgarian  people  thank 
you  for  your  courage  in  coming  here  at  this  critical  moment. 
The  Bulgarians  will  be  grateful,  and  you  may  count  on  their 
devotion  and  attachment  in  fulfilling  the  heavy  task  which  you 
have  undertaken.  This  same  people  is  grateful  to  Russia, 
who  made  immense  sacrifices  for  our  deliverance,  and  to  whom 
we  owe  our  liberty  and  independence.  Do  not  then  forget 
these  sacrifices,  and  use  your  best  efforts  to  re-establish 
relations  between  Russia  and  Bulgaria — to  reconcile  the 
Liberator  and  the  liberated.' 

As  the  Prince's  procession  emerged  from  the 
cathedral  the  infantry  stationed  in  the  square  made  a 
march  past.  His  Highness,  with  his  cavalry  escort, 
rode  on  horseback  slowly  through  the  streets  up  to 
the  palace,  that  once  upon  a  time  was  the  residence 
of  the  Turkish  pasha.  This  final  part  of  a  historic 
demonstration  was  marred  by  a  heavy  rain  shower, 
which  drove  many  thousands  of  spectators  to  seek 
shelter.  At  the  same  time,  it  was  *  King's  weather,' 
of  a  sort.  For  there  had  been  for  weeks  an  unbroken 
drought,  and  the  heat  during  the  day,  and  throughout 
the  Prince's  journey  from  the  Danubian  port,  had 
been  terrific.  From  the  ceremonial  point  of  view,  a 
day  earlier  or  a  day  later  would  have  been  more  con- 
venient. But,  doubtless,  to  the  crowds  of  small 
farmers  from  the  country  the  deluge  of  rain  would 


136  CZAR  FERDINAND 

have  been  welcome  at  any  moment.  There  was  no 
justification  for  the  statement  made  in  French  and 
Austrian  journals,  that  the  Prince  was  *  disconcerted  * 
by  the  unfriendly  demeanour  of  the  troops  arrayed  in 
the  streets  of  Sofia.  The  reception  accorded  to  the 
Prince  by  the  troops  and  the  civil  population  alike  was 
cordial  in  the  extreme.  The  words  with  which  he 
followed  up  his  short  speech  at  the  triumphal  arch  by 
the  Assembly  Hall — '  Long  live  free  Bulgaria ! ' — ^were 
re-echoed  throughout  the  city.  At  night  the  town  was 
illuminated.  A  torchlight  procession  halted  in  front 
of  the  palace  windows,  at  one  of  which  the  Prince 
appeared  and  made  the  last  of  the  series  of  speeches 
which  he  began  ten  days  before  at  Widin.  The  in- 
augural part  of  the  business  was  over  and  done  with. 
And  Prince  Ferdinand  woke  up  next  morning  to 
realise  the  fact  that  he  was  Captain  of  the  Ship  of 
State,  and  must  provide  himself  with  a  pilot  and 
officers.  To  his  surprise,  he  discovered  that  even 
those  of  his  supporters  who  were  most  intimate  with 
him  either  were  reluctant  to  serve  him  or  refused. 
There  were  symptoms  of  disagreement  among  them. 
And  the  lowering  clouds,  now  on  the  eastern,  now  on 
the  northern,  horizon,  threatened  rough  weather. 

The  Turkish  Government  had  already  made  its 
protest  to  the  European  Powers  through  their  am- 
bassadors in  Constantinople.  The  circular  ran  as 
follows  : — 

'Your  Excellency  is  aware  of  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  election  of  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Coburg  as  Prince 


THE  PRINCE'S  CAVALCADE  137 

of  Bulgaria  took  place.  You  are  also  cognisant  of  the 
declarations  made  by  His  Highness  that  he  would  not  leave 
Vienna  until  his  election  should  have  obtained  the  sanction  of 
the  Suzerain  Court,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of 
Berlin,  and  the  consent  of  the  other  Signatory  Powers.  At 
the  moment  when  an  exchange  of  views  had  commenced 
between  the  Imperial  Government  and  the  Great  Powers  on 
the  subject  of  this  election,  we  learnt  that  Prince  Ferdinand, 
contrary  to  his  previous  declarations,  proposed  to  leave  his 
residence  of  Ebenthal  for  Bulgaria ;  and  this  inopportune 
project  made  it  our  duty  to  address  to  him  .  .  .  strong  and 
repeated  advice,  engaging  him  not  to  depart  from  the  course 
which  he  had  planned  for  himself,  and  which,  at  various  inter- 
vals, he  had  announced  to  us.  Notwithstanding  the  above- 
mentioned  declarations,  the  Prince  has  seen  fit  to  abandon  his 
original  project,  and  suddenly  to  leave  his  residence  to  go 
and  take  possession  of  the  administration  of  the  Principality 
where  he  now  is.' 

According  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  the  Turkish 
Government  was  in  the  right.  Notwithstanding  a 
certain  shade  of  ambiguity  in  the  Prince's  declaration 
to  the  deputation  from  Tirnovo,  the  final  impression 
one  gathers  is  that  before  taking  the  oath  and  assuming 
office  he  would  wait  for  the  Signatory  Powers  to  legal- 
ise the  national  choice.  And  yet  the  Prince's  words 
seem  to  betray  some  hesitation,  some  confusion  of 
thought.  How  were  the  Prince,  and  the  Bulgarian 
Assembly,  to  'justify  the  confidence  '  of  the  Signatory 
Powers  ?  By  waiting,  and  doing  nothing  ?  But  the 
Assembly,  on  its  part,  had  already  done  everything 
by  inviting  the  Prince  to  swear  to  the  Constitution 
and  ascend  the  throne  with  or  without  the  Powers' 


138  CZAR  FERDINAND 

approval.  Or  did  the  Prince  hope  to  *  win  the  con- 
fidence *  he  desired  by  proving,  after  his  accession, 
that  he  deserved  it  ?  But  in  that  case,  why  Hnger  at 
Vienna  ?  And  how  could  he  hope,  by  waiting  *  a 
week  or  two,*  to  overcome  Russia's  initial  objection 
to  the  act  of  an  assembly  the  existence  of  which,  by 
reason  of  the  revolutionary  union  of  Southern  with 
Northern  Bulgaria,  was  in  itself  illegal  ?  But  let  it 
be  supposed  that  the  Prince  did  believe  in  the  possi- 
bility of  Russia's  consent  in  *  a  week  or  two ' ;  then  one 
may  understand  that,  when  undeceived,  he  may  have 
considered  himself  justified  in  waiting  no  longer. 
What  is  beyond  doubt  is  the  absolute  sincerity  of 
Prince  Ferdinand's  desire  to  act  in  accordance  with 
the  letter  of  the  Berlin  Treaty.  But  it  is  also  possible 
that  Prince  Ferdinand  may  have  from  the  very  first 
realised  the  certainty  of  Russia's  unalterable  opposi- 
tion ;  in  which  case  he  would  wait  *  a  week  or  two  ' 
just  for  form's  sake.  The  declaration  also  seems  to 
indicate  in  the  Prince's  mind  a  distinction  between 
legality  and  what  is  usually  named  *  natural  justice,* 
and  a  secret  purpose  to  take  the  side  of  *  natural 
justice,'  should  his  abstention  bring  Bulgaria — ^whose 
good  was,  after  all,  the  great  point  at  issue — any 
nearer  *the  edge  of  the  abyss*  whither,  according 
to  the  Russian  journalists  and  politicians,  she  was 
rapidly  approaching.  Full  allowance  must  be  made 
for  the  effect  upon  the  Prince's  mind  of  the  social 
atmosphere,  the  sacrosanct  formality,  the  diplomatic 
tradition,  wherein  he  had  been  trained.    He  had  not 


THE  PRINCE'S  CAVALCADE  139 

yet  seen  his  *  nouvelle  patrie.^  His  hereditary  respect 
for  form  received  scant  sympathy  from  those  rough- 
and-ready  Bulgars,  who  in  dealing  with  treaties  cared 
only  for  stark  realities. 

Even  after  he  had  taken  the  irrevocable  step,  the 
Prince  manifested  a  tender  regard  for  the  diplomatic 
proprieties.  The  word  *  independence/  in  his  pro- 
clamations to  his  people,  threw  the  Turk  into  a  fit  of 
irritation.  '  The  Powers,'  as  they  were  bound  to  do, 
condoled  with  the  outraged  *  suzerain.'  Whereupon 
this  *  correct '  Prince  of  Bulgaria  and  *  vassal '  of  the 
Sultan  explained  that  by  '  independence  '  he  meant 
freedom  in  internal  affairs  only.  As  if  his  oath  at 
Tirnovo  had  not  meant  freedom — of  the  most  un- 
mistakable sort — in  external  affairs  also ;  as  if  in 
every  step  he  had  taken  from  the  Danube  to  Sofia  he 
had  not  trodden  upon  a  shred  of  that  paper-chimera, 
the  Berlin  Treaty.  As  we  have  observed  before, 
when  he  did  take  his  plunge  Prince  Ferdinand  struck 
out  manfully. 

In  the  whole  history  of  diplomacy  and  of  nation- 
making  there  is  nothing  more  interesting  and  curious 
than  Prince  Ferdinand's  career  at  this  period.  It  is 
the  spectacle  of  the  rise  of  a  new  nation  through  the 
destruction  of  the  compact  and  defiance  of  the 
guardians  to  which  and  to  whom  it  was  supposed  to 
owe  its  existence.  In  the  sublime  indifference  to 
treaty  obligations  with  which  the  Prince  and  his 
ministers  went  touring  through  the  country,  there 
was  a  strong  element  of  the  comic.    The  furious  Turk 


140  CZAR  FERDINAND 

implores  the  Powers  to  call  the  illustrious  tourist  to 
order.  The  Muscovite  shouts  opprobrious  names, 
such  as  *  insolent  interloper/  *  usurper/  *  upstart/ 
*  prevaricator/  *  promise-breaker/  and  so  on.  Not 
knowing  what  he  himself  is  to  do,  he  bullies  the  Turk, 
urging  him  to  reoccupy  Roumelia — the  Christian  pro- 
vince from  which  he  had  expelled  the  same  Turkish 
oppressor.  Your  conduct  is  *  deplorably  irregular,*  ^ 
England  remonstrates  through  her  able  editors ;  do 
you  not  hear  how  *  severely '  you  are  *  condemned 
everywhere ' }  are  you  not  *  ashamed  of  yourself  * } 
Losing  patience  with  her  co-signatories — especially 
with  England,  who  points  out  that  the  treaty  makes 
no  provision  for  military  coercion  upon  the  offender 
— Russia  proposes  denunciation  of  the  treaty.  But 
Russia  is  silenced  when  she  is  reminded  that  the 
abrogation  of  the  Berlin  Treaty  must  leave  Bulgaria 
free  to  do  whatever  she  may  please.  *  The  dogs  bark, 
the  caravan  goes  on  its  way,'  says  the  Turkish  proverb. 
But  in  this  case  the  caravanners  are  the  rebellious 
Bulgars  and  their  *  unlawful'  Prince.  With  a  rude 
humour,  they  apply  the  adage  to  themselves.  And 
while  the  hubbub  of  remonstrance,  the  appeal  to  the 
proprieties,  resounds  throughout  Europe,  Prince  Fer- 
dinand and  his  long  tail  of  a  cavalcade  traverse  the 
dusty  highways  of  Bulgaria  with  the  placidity  of  holi- 
day people  playing  at  gipsies. 

1   TVot^j  articles,  August  1887. 


XVIIl 

SCOLDING  AND  SMILING 

But  meanwhile,  pleasant  to  relate,  light  was  breaking 
in  upon  the  European  mind.  The  European  mind 
was  becoming  alive  to  the  realities  hidden  within  their 
wrappings  of  verbiage.  *  It  would  certainly  be  ex- 
ceedingly odd,'  said  a  German  journal,  '  if  Russia, 
who,  acting  on  a  pretended  European  mandate,  ex- 
pelled Turkey  from  Bulgaria,  should  with  another 
European  mandate  reinstate  her  there.'  This  was  in 
reference  to  Russia's  proposal  to  expel  the  Bulgarians 
from  Eastern  Roumelia  and  re-establish  a  Turkish 
governor-general  with  the  same  powers  as  those 
exercised  by  Aleko  Pasha  and  Gavril  Pasha  before 
the  *  unlawful '  union  with  Northern  Bulgaria.  But 
Turkey  and  Russia  were  the  only  two  Powers  bent 
upon  military  coercion,  and  the  treaty  prohibited  any 
but  collective  action. 

The  Fremdenhlatt  gave  its  opinion  in  the  following 
passage  : — 

*  The  Berlin  Treaty  knows  of  three  phases  in  the  election 
of  a  Bulgarian  Prince.  The  first — namely,  the  nomination  by 
the  Sobranje,  and  the  taking  of  the  Constitutional  Oath — is  now 
over.  It  is  nowhere  said  in  the  Berlin  Treaty  that  before  the 
recognition  by  the  Porte  and  the  Powers  the  Prince-Elect  is  not 
allowed  to  appear  on  Bulgarian  soil  and  to  take  the  oath. 
This  is  a  mere  Bulgarian  affair.     The  way  in  which  the  Prince 

141 


142  CZAR  FERDINAND 

has  been  received  in  the  country  is  the  most  satisfactory  con- 
clusion of  the  first  phase.  As  to  the  following  phases — 
namely,  the  recognition  of  the  Sultan  and  the  consent  of  the 
Powers — the  Prince,  supported  by  the  confidence  of  the  entire 
people,  can  await  the  course  of  events  in  his  country.' 

The  foregoing  estimate  of  the  situation  is  not  quite 
accurate.  According  to  the  letter  of  the  treaty,  the 
oath,  without  the  previous  approval  of  the  Powers, 
was  mere  waste  of  breath. 

In  the  following  passage  the  Cologne  Gazette  came 
still  nearer  to  a  grasp  of  realities  : — 

*  If  the  Battenberger  was  not  worth  the  bones  of  a  Pom- 
eranian grenadier  to  us,  how  should  the  Coburger  be  worth 
them.^  .  .  .  Germany  has  no  reason  to  be  enthusiastic  over 
the  Coburger's  adventure.  But,  from  the  humane  standpoint, 
it  is  to  be  desired  that  the  sorely  tried  Principality  may  at  last 
rest  from  its  Russian  liberator,  yet  tormentor,  and  be  left  to 
itself.  If  no  one  can  help  the  country,  it  must  in  despair  seek 
to  help  itself.* 

Its  contemporary,  the  Vossische  Zeitung^  made  the 
following  important  declaration  : — 

*  None  of  the  Powers  will  be  in  a  hurry  to  recognise 
Prince  Ferdinand,  and  even  those  that  wish  him  well  will  await 
the  development  of  events  in  Bulgaria.  But  supposing  several 
Powers  did  declare  themselves  for  the  recognition  of  the 
Prince,  what  would  the  Russian  threat  then  mean?  Russia 
forgets  or  pretends  to  forget  that  the  provisions  of  the  Berlin 
Treaty  respecting  the  election  of  the  Prince  of  Bulgaria  only 
owed  their  existence  to  the  fact  that  the  Powers  feared  the 
Bulgarians  would  permanently  surrender  themselves  to  Russian 
influence.     Since,  however,  a  strong  anti-Russian  reaction  has 


SCOLDING  AND  SMILING  143 

taken  place  in  Bulgaria,  no  one  has  any  longer  any  need  to 
stand  up  for  provisions  which  restrict  the  Bulgarians  in  the 
free  choice  of  their  Prince.  The  same  thing  holds  good  of 
nearly  all  the  other  provisions  of  the  Berlin  Treaty.  The 
purposes  in  view  have  long  been  attained,  and  nobody  will 
shed  a  tear  if  Russia  invalidates  the  treaty.' 

The  real  spirit  of  the  Berlin  Treaty  could  not  have 
been  expressed  more  forcibly  than  in  the  foregoing 
passage.  But  if  the  treaty  restrictions  upon  the 
method  of  electing  a  Prince  of  Bulgaria  were  no  longer 
necessary,  it  might  be  said  that  the  document  still 
retained  at  least  a  negative  value,  as  a  prohibition 
against  the  assertion  of  individual  ambitions.  Such 
was  the  view  expressed  by  the  Times  : — 

'  But  Russia's  sole  denunciation  of  the  treaty  would  not 
affect  the  rights  of  other  Powers,  while  they  cannot  agree  to 
denounce  it  without  losing  the  vantage  ground  from  which 
they  now  address  the  erring  Bulgarians  and  their  Prince.  The 
irregularity  of  the  situation  is  absolutely  dependent  upon  the 
validity  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.  Take  that  away  and  no  one 
has  the  right  to  address  a  single  reproach  to  the  Bulgarians 
or  to  interfere  with  any  of  their  arrangements.  .  .  .  The 
Great  Powers  will  not  rightly  relinquish  their  right  of  col- 
lective control.  .  .  .  Their  collective  control  excludes  all 
singular  interference,  which  is  in  itself  a  very  considerable 
advantage.  ...  As  things  stand,  all  that  happens  is  the 
regulation  of  Bulgarian  affairs  by  the  Bulgarians — a  result 
perhaps  not  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  the  Berlin  Treaty, 
although  attained  by  methods  not  strictly  justified  by  its  letter.* 

All  the  world  knows  how  impotent '  the  collective 
control  *  proved  when  in  1908  the  Austrians  annexed 


144  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Bosnia-Herzegovina,  in  which  the  treaty  had  installed 
them  as  caretakers ;  and  Prince  Ferdinand,  casting  off 
his  last  bond  of  *  vassalage  '  to  the  Turk,  was  pro- 
claimed, amidst  the  plaudits  of  his  people.  Czar  of 
Bulgaria.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  Bulgarian  *  vassal- 
age '  to  the  rotten,  utterly  incurable,  and  detestable 

*  Empire  '  of  the  Ottomans  was  but  the  frailest  make- 
believe.  So  was  the  Austrian  *  occupation  * — as 
diplomatically  distinguished  from  annexation.  The 
robbers,  as  the  Turks  characterised  them,  merely 
appropriated  what  was  already  theirs. 

It  was  not,  however,  the  barbarous  Turk,  with  his 
foul  record  of  crime,  no  longer  capable  of  pillage  and 
murder  on  a  Ghenghiz  Khan's  scale,  that  Austria 
despoiled.  Rather  was  it  the  Slav,  predominant  by 
numbers  in  Bosnia-Herzegovina  and  the  Dual  Mon- 
archy, dreaming  over  the  union  of  his  race,  perhaps 
over  a  coming  struggle  for  supremacy  with  the 
Teuton.  Austria's  design  was  subjection.  In  that 
respect  she  was  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  once 
conquering  Turk.  But,  of  course,  subjection  to 
Austria  differed  as  widely  as  the  poles  from  the 
Christian  *  herd's '  subjection  to  their  Turkish 
tyrant.  A  benevolent  subjection  it  might  be,  but 
still  subjection  to  armed  force.  Bulgaria's  aim  was 
far  otherwise — the  liberation  of  her  kindred  long 

*  struggling  to  be  free.'  The  proclamation  of  1908 
was  the  penultimate,  that  of  1887  the  ante-penul- 
timate, step  towards  the  achievement  of  a  secular 
purpose. 


SCOLDING  AND  SMILING  145 

It  remained  for  the  Svobodaj^  King-Maker  Stam- 
bouloff's  own  paper,  to  sum  up  the  moral  of  Prince 
Ferdinand's  advent.  The  article  might  have  been 
written  by  M.  Stambouloff  himself.  Like  the  great 
Dictator's  talk  on  critical  themes,  it  is  outright  and 
straight  to  the  point : — 

*The  crisis  is  terminated.  We  have  a  reigning  Prince, 
and  Bulgaria  will  know  how  to  resume  her  normal  path. 
Europe  alleges  that  we  violate  international  treaties.  On  the 
contrary,  we  wish  to  repair  the  flagrant  violation  of  treaty 
which  Russia  committed  in  expelling  Prince  Alexander.  If 
Russia  had  not  driven  away  our  Prince,  should  we  have  been 
compelled  to  elect  a  new  ruler,  to  bring  him  here  without  the 
consent  of  the  Powers  ?  The  telegram  which  Prince  Ferdinand 
sent  to  the  Sultan  on  arriving  in  Bulgaria  is  a  proof  that 
neither  he  nor  the  Bulgarian  nation  has  any  intention  of  break- 
ing treaties.  If  the  Powers  propose  giving  over  their  rights 
into  the  hands  of  Russia,  the  consequences  of  such  action 
should  be  weighed  beforehand,  for  it  would  bring  about  a 
situation  by  no  means  desirable  in  the  interests  of  Europe. 
If  Europe  desires  peace,  she  ought  not  to  drive  the  Bulgarians 
to  extremities  ;  she  ought  not  to  forget  that  they  will  not 
budge  from  the  position  they  have  taken  up.' 

There  the  voice  rings  of  Stephan  Stambouloff,  the 
greatest  Bulgarian  of  modern  times.  That  dexterous 
hit  at  Russia  as  the  real  law-breaker  is  exactly  in  the 
Dictator's  manner.  The  law-breaker  was  Russia. 
Her  paid  agents  kidnapped  the  ruler  whom  the  Porte 
and  the  Signatory  Powers  had  approved.  Her  gov- 
ernment forced  him  to  abdicate.    Alexander  had  to 

^  Libert). 
K 


146  CZAR  FERDINAND 

choose  between  abdication  and  murder.  He  had  to 
make  the  choice,  because  he  stood  in  the  way  of  a 
Russian  ambition  which  the  BerHn  Treaty  was  de- 
signed to  frustrate.  The  Dictator  is  no  less  explicit 
in  his  warning  that  Bulgaria  will  fight  to  maintain  the 
position  she  has  made  for  herself,  even  if  an  armed 
Europe  may  attempt  to  coerce  her.  There,  also,  is 
the  Stambouloffian  note  of  defiance.  Bulgaria  will 
respect  treaties.  But  how  }  By  interpreting  them  in 
her  own  way — that  is  to  say,  in  accordance  with  what 
people  call  '  natural  justice.'  As  he  often  said  on 
other  occasions,  Bulgaria  had  no  voice  in  the  making 
of  the  bargain  that  was  supposed  to  seal  her  fate  for 
generations  to  come.  It  is  the  slave's  natural  right,  as 
soon  as  he  feels  himself  strong  enough,  to  break  his 
bonds,  and,  if  need  be,  to  break  his  owner's  head. 

Stambouloff's  strong  language  and  Prince  Fer- 
dinand's announcement  of  '  freedom  '  and  '  in- 
dependence '  elicited,  as  we  have  already  said, 
remonstrances  from  the  European  press.  Even  from 
England — ^whose  people,  lovers  of  justice,  were  pro- 
Bulgarian — some  grave  scolding  was  sent  forth  to  the 
address  of  Prince  Ferdinand  and  his  ministers  and 
people.  But  perhaps  it  may  not  be  difficult  to  per- 
ceive that  the  scolding  was  administered  for  form's 
sake.  This  or  that  eminent  writer  who  emits  it,  some- 
what resembles  a  model  headmaster  who,  having 
severely  admonished  a  pupil  for  some  daring  esca- 
pade, finishes  off  by  calling  the  culprit  a  promising 
young  English  gentleman  and  inviting  him  to  tea. 


SCOLDING  AND  SMILING  147 

Your  behaviour  is  *  exceedingly  irregular,'  said  the 
Times.  Of  course  it  was.  The  Prince  might  have 
given  the  Powers  at  least  a  nod  of  recognition  as  he 
and  his  cavalcade  went  past  at  their  easy  jog-trot  on 
the  road  to  Sofia.  The  Powers,  the  same  great  jour- 
nal went  on,  will  be  under  the  painful  necessity  of 
drawing  up  '  an  identic  note  expressing  their  sense  of 
the  impropriety  of  ignoring  the  rights  of  the  Sultan 
and  the  control  of  Europe.'  What  cared  those  rude 
Scythians  for  identic  notes — mere  bullets  of  rag  or 
wood  pulp  ?  Well,  after  all,  if  these  Bulgarians  '  can 
manage  to  consume  their  own  smoke,  they  are  not 
likely  to  be  meddled  with,  but  if  they  puff  it  in  the 
face  of  their  neighbours,  it  is  more  difficult  to  answer 
for  the  course  of  events.'  If  they  '  do  well,'  Europe 
will  leave  them  alone.  '  If  they  permit  themselves  to 
become  a  nuisance  to  their  neighbours,  they  may 
force  Europe  to  depart  from  her  present  attitude  of 
frowning  non-interference.'  The  writer  of  the  Times^ 
leading  article  may  have  frowned  like  the  rest,  but  if 
he  did,  there  was,  one  imagines,  a  smile  lurking  in  the 
corners  of  his  eyes. 


XIX 

RIGHT  IN  'TAKING  THE  RISKS' 

The  only  *  contradiction '  worth  talking  about  existed 
not  between  Prince  Ferdinand's  first  promise  and 
subsequent  performance,  but  between  the  past  and 
the  present.  The  Slavic  movement  in  Southern 
Europe  was  not  to  be  arrested  because  a  company  of 
gentlemen  seated  round  a  green  table  in  Berlin  had 
ordained,  Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther. 
Status  quo.  There  's  no  such  thing  as  status  quo  in 
the  universe.  Uavra  pel  It  was  not  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand's fault  if  the  logic  of  facts — la  force  des  choses — 
had  stultified  the  logic  of  vocables.  The  gentlemen 
round  the  green  table  had  misinterpreted  the  Bul- 
garian mind.  They  imagined  that  a  Bulgaria  more 
free  than  they  were  resolved  to  establish  would  be- 
come the  consenting  instrument  of  Russian  ambition. 
And  so,  having  tied  up  the  young  Bulgar  giant  in 
elaborate  red  tape,  the  British  envoy-in-chief  returned 
home  with  his  imbecile  brag  of  *  Peace  with  honour  ' 
— ^the  *  peace  '  turning  out  to  be,  in  so  far  as  a  large 
portion  of  the  Bulgar  land  was  concerned,  a  sanguin- 
ary episode  destined  to  last  thirty-five  years.  The 
Prince's  scruples  in  the  conflict  between  the  letter  of 
an  international  compact  and  what  he  believed  to  be 
its  spirit  was  by  no  means  a  sign  of  weakness.  It  was 
all  to  his  credit.    In  striking  out  on  the  independent 


RIGHT  IN  '  TAKING  THE  RISKS  '     149 

path  he  chose  the  lesser  of  two  evils.  His  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  last  seven  years  proved 
to  him  the  baselessness  of  the  old  fear  lest  a  free 
Bulgaria  should  mean  a  more  powerful  Russia  and  a 
long  step  towards  the  realisation  of  *  Peter's  dream.' 
Nor  did  his  adoption  of  the  independent  course 
signify  an  abandonment  of  future  efforts  to  appease 
Russia.  On  the  contrary,  he  continued  his  efforts, 
patiently,  hopefully,  in  spite  of  many  a  rude  rebuff, 
until  they  were  crowned  with  success,  and  in  a  most 
flattering  manner.  The  very  terms  of  the  metro- 
politan bishop's  short  address  to  the  Prince  in  the 
cathedral  might  well  have  encouraged  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand in  the  hope  that  Russia  might,  without  much 
further  delay, '  regularise '  his  position.  The  bishop, 
it  must  be  remembered,  had  long  been  one  of  the 
foremost  leaders  of  the  pro- Russian  party.  He  had 
been  implicated  in  the  kidnapping  of  Prince  Alex- 
ander and  in  the  intrigues  that  led  to  his  enforced 
abdication.  Yet  this  most  powerful  of  the  Bulgarian 
bishops,  speaking  from  his  throne  in  the  cathedral, 
declared  that  the  Bulgarian  people  were  thankful  to 
the  Prince  for  having  had  *  the  courage  '  to  come 
among  them  at  a  moment  *  so  critical ' ;  that  the 
Prince  might  count  on  the  people's  *  devotion.'  The 
bishop,  at  the  same  time,  proclaimed  the  nation's 
gratitude  to  Russia,  and  urged  the  Prince  to  strive  for 
reconciliation  between  the  liberator  and  the  liberated 
nation.  But  that  was  precisely  what  the  Prince  him- 
self most  ardently  desired  to  achieve ;  while,  as  for 


150  CZAR  FERDINAND 

gratitude  to  Russia,  the  Prince  has  not  ceased  to  avow 
it  to  this  day. 

But  a  still  more  remarkable  declaration  in  favour 
of  Prince  Ferdinand  came  about  this  time  from  a 
quarter  from  which  one  would  least  expect  it.  It  has 
long  been  the  fashion  to  depreciate  King  Milan  of 
Servians  intelligence.  But  those  who  were  supposed 
to  know  him  best  formed  a  high  opinion  of  his  politi- 
cal shrewdness.  It  was  his  firm  belief  that  delay  in 
the  election  of  a  prince  would  plunge  Bulgaria  into 
anarchy,  and  relegate  her  to  the  position  which  she 
occupied  after  the  war,  when  she  was  under  Russia's 
provisional  administration.  It  seemed  to  be  his 
opinion  that  Prince  Ferdinand  was  well  qualified  for 
the  hard  task  he  had  undertaken,  and  even  that  His 
Highness  ought  to  have  started  for  Tirnovo  the 
moment  the  news  of  his  election  was  conveyed  to  him 
by  the  Regents'  deputation.  There  could  have  been 
no  doubt  but  that  King  Milan  himself  would  have 
done  it.  It  is  interesting  to  recall  to  mind  the  fact 
that  King  Milan  himself  had  at  one  time  been  ap- 
proached with  a  view  to  his  election  as  king  of  a 
united  Bulgaria  and  Servia.  The  scheme  was  neither 
more  nor  less  impracticable  than  the  proposal  for 
King  Charles  of  Roumania's  election.  Underlying  it 
was  the  idea  of  a  Confederation  of  the  Southern 
Slavs;  That  it  was  not  a  hopelessly  *  wild-cat' 
scheme  the  events  of  19 12- 13  have  proved.  And 
it  may  be  that  the  existing  military  alliance  of  the 
Balkanic  states  is  destined  to  further  developments. 


RIGHT  IN  *  TAKING  THE  RISKS  '     151 

From  every  point  of  view,  therefore,  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand was  justified  in  adopting  the  bold,  and  techni- 
cally illegal,  and  *  deplorable  '  course.  And  none  the 
less  because  there  were  risks.  The  occasion  was  one 
worth  rising  to.  Noblesse  oblige.  And  if  Prince 
Ferdinand  needed  any  inspiration,  there  was  his 
mother,  the  clearly  discerning  and  ambitious,  to 
supply  it.  The  Bulgarians,  sharp-eyed  people,  who 
conducted  the  earlier  negotiations  with  the  Prince, 
gathered  the  impression  that  Princess  Clementine 
was  a  power  behind  the  scene.  One  may  imagine  her 
pride  and  gratification  when,  in  her  quiet  retreat  at 
Ebenthal,  where  she  anxiously  followed  the  daily 
reports  of  her  son's  progress,  she  received  from  the 
Regents  the  telegraphic  announcement  of  her  son's 
accession  to  the  throne  of  Bulgaria.  The  following 
was  Princess  Clementine's  reply  : — 

*  The  devotion  and  attachment  which  the  noble  Bulgarian 
people  show  towards  my  beloved  son  produce  feelings  of  joy 
and  satisfaction  in  his  mother's  heart.  I  am  deeply  touched 
by  this,  by  your  kind  expressions,  and  your  wish  to  see  me  in 
Bulgaria,  whither  I  shall  be  very  happy  to  come.* 

Their  message  to  Princess  Clementine  was,  it 
seems,  the  Regents'  last  official  act.  After  the  Prince's 
taking  of  the  oath  and  the  reading  of  his  proclama- 
tion the  Regency  ceased  to  exist.  The  Grand 
Sobranje  (Assembly)  had  done  its  work.  It  was  dis- 
solved. And  the  Prince,  for  the  first  time,  chose  his 
ministers. 


XX 

THE  PRINCE'S  FIRST  PREMIER  :    FIRST 
GENERAL  ELECTION 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  Prince  Ferdinand 
would  have  chosen  as  his  first  Prime  Minister  the 
first  of  Hving  Bulgarians,  the  saviour  of  the  state 
during  some  of  its  most  critical  years,  M.  StamboulofF. 
He  chose  M.  Stoiloff",  whose  successful  negotiations 
with  him  in  Vienna  we  have  already  recorded,  dwell- 
ing at  the  same  time  on  the  sympathies  between  the 
two  men.  In  a  system  of  government  under  which 
the  Prince  shared  with  his  ministers  the  duties  of 
consultation  and  discussion,  M.  Stoiloff 's  presidency 
of  the  council  would  have  been  in  many  ways  for  the 
Prince  a  peculiarly  agreeable  arrangement.  We  have 
already  spoken  of  M.  Stoiloff 's  wide  culture.  He  was 
the  most  brilliant  of  all  the  students  who,  up  to  his 
time,  had  been  trained  at  the  famous  institution  on 
the  Bosphorus,  Robert  College.  The  Prime  Minis- 
ter-elect had  a  pleasing  presence.  His  manners  were 
gracious  and  entirely  unaffected.  He  had  a  consti- 
tutional dislike  to  the  turmoil  of  politics.  Differences 
that  set  his  comrades  in  the  assembly  by  the  ears  left 
him  unmoved.  His  attitude  was  rather  that  of  the 
philosopher-onlooker  than  of  a  gladiator  in  the  dusty 
arena  of  politics.  He  was  a  kind  of  Bulgar  Ernest 
Renan,  but  perhaps  with  a  more  optimistic  outlook 
upon  life  than  the  illustrious  Frenchman's.      The 

162 


THE  PRINCE'S  FIRST  PREMIER       153 

rough-and-tumble  manners  and  methods  of  certain 
of  his  colleagues  somewhat  jarred  upon  M.  Stoiloff's 
nerves. 

Clearly  the  kind  of  Prime  Minister  suited  to  Prince 
Ferdinand's  fastidious  tastes.  But  when  the  Tirnovo 
ceremonials  were  over,  and  the  hard  work  of  govern- 
ment had  to  be  undertaken  at  Sofia,  M.  Stoiloff  failed 
to  form  a  cabinet.  He  was  pacific,  and  too  much 
of  a  Conservative  for  the  Nationalists,  who,  having 
already  scored  so  many  victories,  were  in  their  finest 
fighting  trim,  well  knowing  that  their  Russian  foes 
were  preparing  for  them  fresh  troubles.  M.  Stoiloff 
resigned,  without  regret.  The  Prince  offered  the  post 
of  Prime  Minister  to  M.  Tontcheff,  also  a  Conserva- 
tive. M.  Tontcheff  declined  it.  The  name  Conserva- 
tive, by  the  way,  does  not  connote  any  clearly  defined 
political  doctrine.  Conservatives  such  as  the  two 
statesmen  we  have  mentioned  were  Russophile  only 
in  the  sense  of  dissent  from  the  extreme  form  of 
opposition  to  Russia  assumed  by  the  intransigeant 
Nationalists.  But  the  politics  of  the  hour  were 
politics  of  strong  contrasts. 

Having  failed  with  the  Conservatives,  Prince 
Ferdinand  turned  to  M.  Stambouloff.  But  the  ex- 
Regent  also  recoiled  from  the  task.  It  was  said  at 
this  time  that  the  Prince  and  M.  Stambouloff  had 
already  taken  stock  of  each  other.  One  imaginative 
writer  describes  the  pair,  when  they  met  each  other 
for  the  first  time  on  board  the  Danubian  steamer, 
as  looking  straight  into  each  other's  souls  through 


154  CZAR  FERDINAND 

each  other's  steady  eyes,  and  coming  to  the  mute 
conclusion  that  theirs  was  to  be  an  obstinate  fight 
for  mastery.  It  was  also  said  that  the  Prince  and 
M.  Stambouloff  had  already  had  a  '  passage  of  arms  * 
at  Tirnovo — which  explained,  it  was  added,  why 
M.  Stambouloff  had  not  accompanied  His  Highness 
to  Sofia.  It  would  be  strange  if  two  such  shrewd 
observers  should  fail  after  a  few  minutes',  or  a  day  or 
two's,  intercourse  to  read  each  other.  But  the  true 
reason  for  M.  Stambouloff 's  reluctance  was  given  by 
the  ex-Regent  himself  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Beaman,  in 
a  conversation  which  took  place  soon  after  the  in- 
auguration at  Tirnovo.^     Said  M.  Stambouloff  : — 

'  No  words  can  picture  my  delight  at  the  arrival  of  the 
Prince.  It  had  been  a  perpetual  nightmare  and  terror  to  me 
that  Bulgaria  might  lose  her  independence  under  my  Regency, 
and  that  my  name  would  be  handed  down  to  posterity  as  a 
reproach.  When  the  Prince  left  for  Sofia  with  his  new 
ministry,  I  spent  three  days  with  my  friends  in  feting  my 
deliverance.  They  were  three  of  the  happiest  days  of  my 
life.' 

M.  Stambouloff 's  special  reasons  for  refusal,  his 
final  acceptance,  and  Prince  Ferdinand's  persistence 
in  pressing  him  to  yield,  were  alike  creditable. 
M.  Stambouloff  felt  that  the  Prince,  notwithstanding 
the  sincerity  of  his  offer,  might  possibly  find  it  irksome 
to  have  for  Prime  Minister  a  man  who  but  the  other 
day  was  the  autocrat  of  Bulgaria,  and  who  by  force  of 
circumstances  might  be  impelled  to  carry  his  auto- 

^   Beaman's  Life  of  Stambouloff,  1895. 


THE  PRINCE'S  FIRST  PREMIER       155 

cratic  methods  into  the  subordinate  post.  M.  Stam- 
bouloff  was  quite  frank  on  this  point  in  his  talk  with 
the  Prince  and  M.  Stoiloff.  He  was  equally  frank, 
and  quite  good-humoured,  when  he  remarked  that 
he  foresaw  troubles  between  himself,  were  he  Prime 
Minister,  and  the  Prince.  He  had  passed  stormy 
years  in  Alexander's  reign,  he  was  tired,  he  needed 
rest ;  the  political  life  had  not  for  him  the  irresistible 
attraction  it  once  had.  There  was  nothing  deceptive 
in  Bulgaria's  Representative  Man.  He  was  what  he 
appeared  to  be — truthfulness,  courage,  patriotism  in- 
carnate, the  implacable  foe  of  every  man  whom  he 
suspected  of  infidelity  to  his  country. 

Stambouloff,  in  a  word,  was  at  this  period 
Bulgaria.  And  Prince  Ferdinand,  a  stranger  in  the 
land,  knew  it.  As  His  Highness  himself  was  known 
to  have  said,  Stambouloff  could  much  more  easily 
dispense  with  Prince  Ferdinand  than  the  Prince  with 
Stambouloff.  He  knew  it,  and  he  honestly  admitted 
it,  thereby  proving  himself,  *  Coburger '  and  stranger 
though  he  was,  *  a  good  Bulgarian.' 

There  was  another  reason,  but  of  a  purely  per- 
sonal and  domestic  nature,  why  M.  Stambouloff 
might  have  declined  office.  His  pecuniary  means 
were  limited.  And  practice  at  the  bar,  where  he 
had  before  now  displayed  talents  of  a  high  order, 
would  have  enriched  him.  But  a  salary  of  about 
five  hundred  pounds  a  year  was  the  wage  which  a 
frugal  Bulgar  Parliament  paid  its  Prime  Minister. 
However,  when  his  country's  good  was  at  stake, 


156  CZAR  FERDINAND 

M .  Stambouloff  recked  not  of  money.  He  yielded  to  the 
Prince's  insistence.  Though  Stoiloff  was  technically 
the  first,  Stambouloff  was  actually  the  first,  of  Prince 
Ferdinand's  Prime  Ministers.  Stambouloff 's  min- 
istry was,  and  still  is,  the  most  famous  in  the  history 
of  Bulgaria.  It  lasted  nearly  seven  years — that  is  to 
say,  until  the  summer  of  1904.  There  were  changes 
within  the  Cabinet,  but  M.  Stambouloff  remained  at 
its  head.  The  Cabinet  was  at  first  constituted  with 
M.  Mutkouroff  as  War  Minister,  M.  Stoiloff  as  Min- 
ister of  Justice,  M.  Girkoff  (ex- Regent)  as  Minister 
of  Public  Instruction,  and  M.  Natchevitch,  the  envoy 
who  accompanied  the  Prince  from  Vienna,  as  Minister 
of  Finance,  and  M.  Stransky,  another  companion,  as 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  M.  Stambouloff,  be- 
sides being  President  of  the  Council  (Premier),  took 
charge  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

The  first  business  which  confronted  this  Ministry 
of  all  the  Talents  was  to  prepare  for  a  general  elec- 
tion. It  had  to  be  ascertained  whether  Prince 
Ferdinand's  first  Cabinet  possessed  the  country's 
confidence,  and  whether  the  Prince's  own  procedure 
so  far  had  the  nation's  approval.  In  French  phrase, 
the  Government  had  to  *  make '  the  elections.  In  the 
past,  Bulgarian  *  elections  '  had  been  '  made '  in  the 
literal  sense  of  the  word.  Until  recent  years  it  was 
the  fashion  to  say  that  there  never  had  been  a  free 
general  election  in  Bulgaria.  And  in  the  literal  sense 
of  *  free  '  the  assertion  was  in  almost  every  instance 
correct.    And  yet,  in  spite  of  intervention  by  reac- 


THE  PRINCE'S  FIRST  PREMIER       157 

tionary  ministries,  either  the  result  at  the  polls  was 
Nationalist  or,  if  anti-Nationalist,  denounced  by  the 
spontaneous  protest  of  the  people.  So  that  it  may  be 
said,  with  perfect  truth,  that  if  Nationalist  ministries 
had  refrained  from  supporting  their  own  nominees, 
the  vote  at  the  urns  would  nevertheless  have  been 
Nationalist.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  machina- 
tions of  the  reactionary,  otherwise  pro- Russian,  group 
had  to  be  defeated.  To  the  '  Box- Stuff ers,'  *  Plug- 
Uglies,*  and  *  Blood  Tubs  '  of  the  United  States 
during  the  presidential  elections  of  the  seventies 
and  eighties,  Russia's  agents  during  the  contests  of 
Prince  Alexander's  reign  might  with  justice  be  com- 
pared. At  one  of  these  contests  only  four  or  five 
Nationalist  candidates  were  returned.  But  the  *  Box- 
Stuffers '  realised  they  had  gained  nothing  when  they 
saw  the  villages  of  Bulgaria  all  a-flutter  with  flags 
bearing  the  motto,  *  Down  with  Russia ! ' — Russia, 
'  the  liberator  '  to  whom  Bulgaria,  as  her  foremost 
sons  acknowledged,  owed  everlasting  gratitude. 
Mechanical  manipulation  availed  naught  against  the 
mind,  the  spirit,  the  *  vital  force,'  as  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand happily  expressed  it,  of  a  people.  Vitality  of 
the  race,  consciously  expressing  itself  in  solidarity 
between  all  citizens  from  the  Premier  to  the  peasant, 
from  the  general  to  his  youngest  drummer-boy — such 
is  the  summary  of  Bulgarian  history. 

As  a  constitutional  ruler  Prince  Ferdinand  mani- 
fested his  sensitive  respect  for  freedom  at  the  urns. 
He  would  not  hear  of  *  making  '  the  elections.    There 


158  CZAR  FERDINAND 

was  to  be  no  interference  beyond  prevention  of 
reactionary  coercion.  His  Prime  Minister  was  quite 
in  accord  with  him.  And  M.  Stambouloff,  as  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior,  was  in  the  position  to  see  that 
every  necessary  precaution  should  be  taken.  The 
general  election  was  six  weeks  ahead.  Throughout 
that  period  the  panslavist  committees  in  Constanti- 
nople, Bucharest,  and  St.  Petersburg  had  their  agents 
secretly  at  work  in  every  Bulgarian  constituency. 
Among  the  most  active  members  of  these  secret  com- 
mittees were  Bulgarian  refugees  lately  escaped  from 
the  Dictator's  clutches.  M.  Stambouloff 's  police 
spies  and  the  Prince's  agents  in  Austria  and  Russia 
reported  that  millions  of  Russian  roubles  were  spent 
in  electoral  propagandism.  Metropolitan  Bishop 
Clement,  who  but  lately  had  praised  the  Prince  for 
his  courage  in  coming  to  Bulgaria  at  a  time  so  critical, 
was  labouring  indefatigably  on  the  reactionary  side. 
It  was  said  that  the  Prince  had  begun  to  feel  his 
position  insecure.  General  elections  cost  money. 
And  Prince  Ferdinand  well  knew  that,  while  the 
Russian  roubles  were  streaming  in,  Bulgaria  had  but 
very  few  francs  to  spare.  The  Prince,  however,  was 
rich — more  fortunate  in  that  respect  than  his  pre- 
decessor, who  had  little  more  than  the  wages  of  a 
ruling  prince  to  live  upon.  So  he  offered  his  Minister 
of  the  Interior  half  a  million  francs  from  his  own 
pocket  for  electioneering  expenses — of  a  legitimate 
character,  of  course.  M.  Stambouloff's  biographer 
relates  how  the  minister,  in  his  bluff  manner,  declined 


THE  PRINCE'S  FIRST  PREMIER       159 

the  gift,  remarking  that  he  neither  feared  Russian 
roubles  nor  needed  French  francs — and  also,  that 
Nationalist  Bulgaria  would  do  her  electioneering  on 
forty  pounds,  and  that  His  Highness  need  not  distress 
himself.  Unconventional  in  his  manners,  and  master- 
ful, was  this  servant  of  the  Prince's  !  Throughout 
the  whole  of  the  electioneering  period  the  reactionary 
committees  were  distributing  circulars,  abounding  in 
abusive  language,  against  the  Prince  and  his  ministers 
— M.  Stambouloff  above  all.  The  clerical  agitators, 
with  the  shifty  Bishop  Clement  at  their  head,  made 
the  ridiculous  accusation  that  '  the  Catholic  '  Prince 
was  deliberately  undermining  the  Orthodox  Church. 
For  *  the  Coburger  '  they  substituted  '  the  Catholic' 
On  the  9th  of  October  1887  Prince  Ferdinand's  first 
Parliament  was  returned  with  an  overwhelming 
Nationalist  majority.  The  minister  invalidated  one 
or  two  local  Nationalist  votes,  in  which  it  was  said 
that  coercion  had  been  used.  But  a  re-election,  in 
which  every  precaution  against  intimidation  had  been 
taken,  left  the  Nationalists  masters  of  the  situation. 
The  election  '  consecrated  '  the  Prince's  proclamation 
— '  Bulgaria  free  and  independent,'  *  Bulgaria  for  the 
Bulgarians.' 


XXI 

PLOTTING  AGAINST  PRINCE  FERDINAND 

It  is  perhaps  needless  to  say  that  in  this  agitated 
period  which,  beginning  early  in  Alexander's  reign, 
was  destined  to  last  through  the  first  seven  years  of 
Ferdinand's,  it  was  the  Cause,  not  the  Prince,  that 
the  Bulgar  cared  for.  And,  of  course,  Russia  was 
aware  of  it.  And  being  aware  of  it,  she  perceived  it 
would  be  to  her  advantage  if  Ferdinand's  anxiety  for 
recognition  by  the  Czar  should  arouse  the  hostility  of 
his  subjects,  already  prone,  as  people  liberated  from 
ages  of  corrupt  government  would  naturally  be,  to 
suspicion.  The  panslavic  plotters  were  well  aware  of 
a  certain  coldness  already  arising  between  the  Prince 
and  his  Prime  Minister,  and  calculated,  as  they 
imagined,  to  land  the  country  once  again  in  a  state 
of  anarchy,  which  would  give  Russia  her  opportunity 
of  armed  intervention. 

There  was  a  rift  in  the  lute,  slight  as  yet.  Prince 
and  minister  had  the  same  end  in  view.  But  they 
differed  in  temperament  and  in  the  method  in  which 
they  strove  to  attain  it.  The  Prince  was  for  con- 
ciliation. The  minister  was  all  defiance.  Before 
condemning  the  great  minister  one  should  under- 
stand him.  Stambouloff  had  passed  through  a  merci- 
less school  of  adversity  such  as  few  leaders  of  popular 
movements  had  had  any  experience  of.    His  hard- 

160 


PLOT  AGAINST  PRINCE  FERDINAND    i6i 

ships,  often  amounting  to  absolute  destitution,  during 
his  youthful  conspiracies  against  the  hated  Turk,  were 
a  mere  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  desertion  and 
the  ingratitude  of  his  comrades,  and  with  the  re- 
proaches of  others  for  failures  of  his  that  were  in 
reality  heroic.  That  it  was  that  sank  into  the  honest, 
rude,  great  soul  of  him  and  left  there  its  indelible 
mark.  In  moments  of  bitter  depression  he  despaired 
of  a  future  for  the  people  of  his  race  :  the  heart  had 
gone  out  of  them.  From  such  a  school  of  adversity 
there  issued  the  man  of  combat,  whom  one  might 
break  but  not  bend,  who  would  treat  with  impartial 
ruthlessness  the  foe  or  the  friend  convicted  of  in- 
fidelity to  the  nation's  cause. 

At  this  time,  and  in  spite  of  his  many  acts  of  arbi- 
trary severity  during  the  Regency,  Stambouloff  was 
still  the  man  of  the  Bulgarian  people.  So  when 
rumours  of  the  Prince's  haughty  demeanour  towards 
his  minister  were  spread  abroad,  the  public  sym- 
pathised with  the  minister.  And  the  panslavist 
plotters  rejoiced  over  the  prospect  of  a  quarrel.  In 
the  army  also  Prince  Ferdinand's  distant  demeanour 
was  resented — and  that  in  a  very  marked  manner. 
The  enthusiasms  of  Tirnovo  had  passed  away.  And 
the  new  commander-in-chief,  the  Prince,  showed 
nothing  of  the  camaraderie  which  had  endeared  the 
soldier-prince,  Alexander  of  Battenberg,  to  officers 
and  men  alike.  Whatever  qualities  Prince  Ferdinand 
might  develop  in  the  course  of  his  career,  they  would 
not  be  of  the  military  order.    So  they  said.    To  this 


i62  CZAR  FERDINAND 

day  the  officers  of  the  Bulgarian  army  maintain  a 
free-and-easy,  familiar,  jolly-good-fellow  style  of  in- 
tercourse not  only  among  their  gallant  selves,  but  to- 
wards their  commanders,  such  as  would  throw  a  ducal 
martinet  of  Vienna  or  Berlin  into  fits.  Yet  in  no 
other  army  is  discipline  more  thorough,  does  officer  or 
man  better  '  know  his  place.'  The  Bulgarian  army  is 
an  object-lesson  in  aristocrat- democracy,  where  the 
*  aristocrat  *  is  simply  the  *  best  man,'  the  right  man 
in  the  right  place,  the  a/ato-ros  in  the  one  true  sense, 
the  only  sufferable  sense,  of  the  name. 

But  Prince  Ferdinand  was  new  to  this  style  of 
equalitarianism.  Indeed,  it  is  possible  that  even  a 
certain  Philippe  figalite — that  doubtful  ornament  of 
the  House  of  Orleans — ^might  have  been  rather  taken 
aback  by  it.  It  is  true  that  the  Bulgars,  a  nation  of 
peasants,  lacked  the  graciousness  of  a  Versailles 
society.  But  they  could  appreciate  in  others  what 
they  lacked  themselves.  And  all  that  they  saw  in 
their  Prince,  now  that  he  was  started  in  business, 
was  an  irreproachable  politeness.  Their  Prince  was 
a  rigid  stickler  for  the  etiquette  in  which  he  had  been 
bred  from  childhood — the  etiquette  of  the  Vienna 
Mandarins.    Let  them  wait  a  few  years. 

While  the  plotters  at  home  were  chuckling  over 
the  prospect  of  a  quarrel  between  the  Prince  and  his 
autocratic  minister,  their  accomplices  in  Turkey  and 
Russia  were  preparing  a  new  Bulgarian  insurrection. 
Intriguers  professing  to  know  what  was  going  on 
within  the   doors   of  the  council   chamber  in  the 


PLOT  AGAINST  PRINCE  FERDINAND    163 

Prince's  palace,  reported  that  the  minister  was  fast 
losing  patience  with  his  *  headstrong  '  master.  The 
adjective  was  said  to  be  Stambouloff's  own.  It  was 
alleged  that  the  Prince  had  seriously  remonstrated 
with  his  minister  on  account  of  his  *  tyranny.'  As 
was  remarked  in  the  foreign  press,  Prince  Ferdinand 
was  somewhat  in  the  position  of  Louis  xiii.  with 
Richelieu,  of  Louis  xiv.  with  Mazarin,  of  the  two 
Williams  with  Thomas  Carlyle's  '  magnanimous  Herr 
von  Bismarck.'  But  between  Bismarck  and  the  first 
William  there  existed  an  affection,  unalterable  and  in 
many  ways  touching,  of  which  the  relations  between 
Prince  Ferdinand  and  his  minister  never  showed  the 
faintest  trace. 

In  this  new  agitation,  *  engineered '  with  the  express 
purpose  of  expelling  Prince  Ferdinand,  the  heavenly 
host  lent  its  powerful  aid  to  the  carnal  forces  that  were 
stealthily  mustering  under  the  direction  or  encourage- 
ment of  the  Russian  Ernroths,  Hitrovos,  Ignatieffs,  and 
Petrovitchs,  and  the  Bulgarian  Zankoffs,  Naboukoffs, 
and  Panitzas.  The  ecclesiastical  ringleader  was,  it 
need  hardly  be  said,  the  metropolitan,  Clement.  His 
war-cry  was  of  a  kind  once  familiar  in  England,  *  The 
Church  is  in  danger.'  The  danger  was  Roman 
Catholicism,  of  which  the  Prince  and  Princess  Clem- 
entine were  the  agents.  The  palace  was  the  '  impure 
source  '  which  was  poisoning  Orthodox  Bulgaria. 
At  Clement's  instigation  the  Bulgarian  clergy  got  up 
a  petition  and  sent  it  to  the  head  of  the  Bulgarian 
Church,  the  Exarch,  whose  official  residence  was  in 


i64  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Constantinople.  It  was  hoped  that  the  Exarch  would 
excommunicate  Ferdinand  *  the  Catholic/  The  fol- 
lowing was  the  petition  addressed  to  '  Your  Beati- 
tude/ the  Exarch  Joseph  : — 

*  In  order  to  dry  up  this  impure  spring,  which  threatens 
utterly  to  corrupt  all  that  is  holy,  pure,  and  elevated  in 
Bulgaria,  and  which  is  sapping  the  foundation  of  all  grace  in 
this  country,  it  is  necessary  first  of  all  to  cut  short  the  nourish- 
ment which  it  receives  from  the  original  foes  of  our  race  and 
faith.  Whether  this  will  happen  soon  is  known  only  to  the 
omniscient  God.  To  us  it  only  remains  to  join  with  Your  Beati- 
tude, and  all  our  Holy  Church,  in  offering  unceasing  prayers 
to  Him  to  hasten  that  time,  in  order  that  these  days  of  moral 
decay,  through  which  our  country  is  passing,  may  be  shortened 
as  soon  as  possible  :  to  stay  the  hands  of  the  sons  of  darkness 
and  ungodliness,  to  dry  up  the  veins  of  the  foul  spring,  to 
support  all  true  followers  of  grace,  and  to  crown  with  success 
the  efforts  of  those  who  are  devoted  to  the  sanctity  of  His 
name  and  Church. 

*  Your  Beatitude,  to  you,  as  high  head  of  the  Orthodox 
Church  of  the  whole  Bulgarian  nation,  we  direct  our  hopes 
that  you  will  act  for  the  preservation  of  its  ancestral  dignity, 
for  in  its  bosom  has  been  preserved  entire  our  much  tried 
Bulgarian  nation,  by  whom  it  has  been  revived  politically,  and 
through  whom  we  hope  that  its  life  may  be  strengthened  for 
a  brighter  and  purer  future.' 

The  Exarch  Joseph  had  a  livelier  sense  of  reality 
than  the  petitioners.  He  had  once  upon  a  time  been 
a  Conservative,  that  is  to  say,  a  Russophile,  almost  as 
pronounced  as  Clement  himself.  But  he  was  also  an 
ardent  patriot,  and  a  reflective  one.  He  saw  that 
Russia's  real  purpose  was  administrative  supremacy 


PLOT  AGAINST  PRINCE  FERDINAND    165 

in  Bulgaria,  and  that  the  attempt  would  end  in 
sanguinary  anarchy.  The  Exarch  therefore  took  the 
effective  common-sense  course.^  He  simply  ignored 
the  petition.  But  M.  Stambouloff  was  less  merciful. 
He  clapped  the  signatories  into  prison.  Some  readers 
might  perhaps  be  misled  by  the  word  Orthodox  in  the 
petition,  the  word  being  usually  understood  as  de- 
noting the  Greek  Church.  But  the  Orthodox  faith  is 
also  the  faith  of  the  Bulgarian  Church — the  difference 
being  that  the  services  of  that  Church  are  conducted 
in  the  Slavic  tongue,  and  that  the  Church  has  a 
national  head  of  its  own.  Nor  was  it  correct  to  say 
that  the  Bulgarian  Church  was  the  mother  of  the 
Bulgarian  nation.  The  gradual  release  of  the  Bulgar 
Church  from  her  Orthodox-Greek  servitude  was  itself 
but  a  symptom  of  the  advance  of  the  race.  The 
schoolmaster  and  monk  were  far  more  efficient  agents 
in  the  national  revival  than  the  secular  clergy.  Never- 
theless, the  petition  was  a  shrewd  blow  at  *  the 
Catholic  '  and  his  regime.  It  has  already  been  ex- 
plained in  what  sense,  in  the  East,  Church  and  nation 
were  identical  :  how  the  Christian  Church  was  at 
least  as  much  a  political  as  a  religious  institution. 
Upon  an  ignorant  people,  brought  up  in  the  religio- 
political  tradition  of  the  Turkish  era,  the  appeal 
ecclesiastic  was  expected  to  produce  a  profound  effect. 

^   Mr.  Beaman's  Stambouloff, 


XXII 

THE  PANITZA  PLOT 

Confident  in  their  great  prestige,  the  Bulgarian 
bishops  did  not  rest  content  with  the  issue  of  a  peti- 
tion. It  was  in  this  same  period  of  turmoil  that  the 
reactionaries  among  them  plotted  an  insurrection. 
The  petition  to  the  Exarch  was  only  a  move  in  the 
game.  A  meeting  of  the  Holy  Synod  at  Sofia  was  to 
be  the  occasion  for  proclaiming  a  revolution.  The 
ringleaders  in  the  affair  were  Simeon,  Bishop  of 
Varna,  an  old  sedition-monger;  Constantine,  Bishop 
of  Vratza,  one  of  Russians  most  active  agents  ;  and, 
of  course,  the  irrepressible  Clement.  They  refused 
to  visit  the  Prince,  and  the  Premier,  and  the  Minister 
of  Public  Worship.  In  a  fiery  discourse  delivered  in 
Sofia  Cathedral,  Bishop  Simeon  accused  the  Prince 
of  a  design  to  substitute  Romanism  for  Orthodoxy. 
The  bishop's  extravagance  rather  defeated  itself. 
At  any  rate,  Stambouloff  contented  himself  with  a 
contemptuous  message  to  the  offending  bishops,  to 
the  effect  that  if  they  did  not  return  to  their  dioceses 
within  three  days  he  would  turn  them  out  and  stop 
their  wages  (they  were  paid  by  the  state).  The 
bishops  regarded  the  message  as  an  empty  threat, 
and  they  took  no  notice  of  it.  But  Stambouloff  was 
as  good  as  his  word.  The  bishops  were  sound  asleep 
in  the  small  hours,  when  the  minister's  policemen 

106 


THE  PANITZA  PLOT  167 

knocked  them  up  and  bundled  them  off  to  their 
respective  flocks.  The  wily  autocrat,  who  had  an 
eye,  or  an  ear,  at  every  keyhole  in  Bulgaria,  had  un- 
ravelled their  plot — ^which  was,  at  High  Mass  in  the 
cathedral  to  launch  their  anathema  against  '  the 
Catholic,'  and  summon  the  faithful  people  to  rebel. 
M.  Stambouloff  had  stolen  a  march  upon  them.  He 
treated  them  with  unwonted  leniency — perhaps  be- 
cause of  the  popular  prestige  of  the  Church,  perhaps, 
also,  because  they  had  wielded  none  but  ghostly 
weapons.  Quite  different  was  his  treatment  of  the 
lay  conspirators,  who  at  this  critical  period  had 
recourse  to  powder  and  steel. 

The  military  conspiracies  for  the  dethronement  or 
assassination  of  Prince  Ferdinand  came  to  maturity 
at  the  end  of  1887,  four  months  after  his  arrival  in 
the  country.  They  were  formed  before  his  arrival, 
as  was  proved  by  documents  discovered  on  the  dead 
body  of  a  conspirator.  Bulgaria  was  still  smarting 
under  the  insult  which  Russia  would  have  inflicted 
upon  her  by  establishing  a  Russian  official  in  the 
offices  of  Provisional  Governor  of  Northern  Bulgaria 
and  Governor- General  of  Eastern  Roumelia.  It  is 
a  sordid  tale  of  bloodthirsty  intrigue,  relieved  by  a 
solitary  flash  of  sarcastic  humour  on  the  part  of  the 
Turk,  who,  when  bullied  by  Russia  to  get  rid  of  the 
'  Coburg  interloper,*  retorted  that  Russia,  with  her 
success  in  the  Battenberg  kidnapping  exploit,  was  of 
the  two  the  better  qualified  for  the  job.  Ernroth's 
very  name  was  offensive  even  to  confirmed  pan- 


i68  CZAR  FERDINAND 

slavists  in  Bulgaria.  As  one  of  the  authors  of  Alex- 
ander's coup  d'etat y  his  arrogant  treatment  of  the 
Bulgarians,  whom  he  considered  unfit  for  constitu- 
tional government,  won  for  him  an  evil  reputation 
among  them.  That  the  Czar's  Government  should 
even  have  dreamt  of  making  a  choice  of  Ernroth  was, 
in  Stambouloff's  words,  an  illustration  of  Russia's 
*  insolent '  disregard  for  Bulgarian  sentiment. 

But  to  come  to  the  December  conspiracies.  They 
were  quite  in  the  old  Ernrothian  line.  They  were  at 
Eski  Zagora,  and  at  Bourgas,  the  Euxine  port.  Their 
purpose  was  to  stir  up  the  Bulgarian  Government 
to  take  such  violent  measures  as  would  provoke 
foreign  intervention.  The  men  employed  in  them 
were  for  the  most  part  ruffians  recruited  in  Con- 
stantinople. One  of  their  bands  despatched  to  sur- 
prise Bourgas  was  defeated  by  the  prefect.  Its 
leader  was  killed  in  the  fight.  The  letter  which  was 
found  upon  him,  and  to  which  we  have  already 
alluded,  was  written  by  the  Russian  panslavist  Petro- 
vitch  to  Count  IgnatiefF,  requesting  him  to  facilitate, 
through  his  influence  with  Prince  Nicolas,  the  recruit- 
ment of  Montenegrins  for  the  projected  rising  in 
Bulgaria. 

A  brief  account  must  suffice  for  the  Panitza  con- 
spiracy, the  most  serious  of  Prince  Ferdinand's  reign. 
The  conspirators  had  agreed  to  give  Prince  Ferdinand 
his  choice  between  abdication  and  death.  Its  ring- 
leader, Major  Panitza,  a  Macedonian,  was  one  of  the 
most  popular  officers  in  the  army.    He  boasted  that 


THE  PANITZA  PLOT  169 

the  majority  of  the  troops  in  Sofia  garrison  were  with 
him.  Like  some  of  his  accomplices,  he  bore  a  grudge 
against  Prince  Ferdinand  because  of  (alleged)  favour- 
itism in  military  promotions.  A  reckless  swaggerer — 
though  a  genial,  amusing  one — he  talked  openly  of  the 
fate  in  store  for  '  the  Coburger ' ;  so  openly  that 
people  were  deceived,  taking  it  all  for  bluff.  But 
Stambouloff  knew  better.  Panitza  was  the  bosom 
friend  of  his  youth,  his  comrade  in  many  a  desperate 
plot  against  the  Turk. 

At  this  period,  and  until  the  day  of  his  downfall, 
M.  Stambouloff  kept  up  a  system  of  espionage  as 
elaborate  and  widespread  as  the  Turk's  own  when  he 
was  lord  of  the  land.  He  speedily  mastered  Panitza 's 
secret.  And  he  was  seriously  alarmed  at  the  extent 
of  the  plot.  He  discovered  that  both  the  com- 
mandant of  the  Sofia  garrison  and  the  prefect  of 
police  were  in  it,  and  that  Panitza  had  won  over  most 
of  the  artillery  officers.  But  he  bided  his  time.  He 
knew  he  had  time  to  spare,  and  he  occupied  it  quietly 
in  making  preparations  for  replacing  such  officers  as 
he  might  think  it  advisable  to  dismiss  or  otherwise 
punish.  He  was  still  more  seriously  alarmed  when, 
in  secret  documents  unearthed  by  his  spies,  he  found 
the  names  of  certain  prominent  personages  whom 
he  would  not  have  suspected  of  treason.  At  last 
M.  Stambouloff  struck  out.  He  arrested  Major 
Panitza,  employing  for  the  purpose  two  of  Panitza's 
own  accomplices,  one  of  whom,  repenting  in  good 
time,  gave  information  to  the  War  Minister.    Arrests 


lyo  CZAR  FERDINAND 

followed  right  and  left.  The  conspirators  were  de- 
moralised. At  the  trial,  which  lasted  several  months, 
it  was  proved  that  the  plotters  had  been  looking  about 
them  for  a  successor  to  *  the  Coburger,*  and  that  they 
had  their  revolutionary  proclamation  ready  for  issue 
on  the  day  of  the  insurrection.  Mr.  Beaman,  who 
knew  the  details,  states  that  Stambouloff  refrained 
from  arresting  certain  accomplices  of  Panitza's — fear- 
ing, we  are  to  suppose,  the  effect  which  the  publica- 
tion of  names  so  respectable  might  produce  upon  the 
public.^  Once  again  the  great  minister  almost  de- 
spaired of  his  country.  It  was  the  general  impression 
that  Major  Panitza  would  escape  with  a  sentence  of 
dismissal  from  the  army.  It  was  thought  that  even 
Stambouloff  of  the  iron  heart  would  shrink  from 
inflicting  the  supreme  penalty  upon  the  friend  of  his 
youth.  The  tribunal  sentenced  the  conspirator  to 
death.  Prince  Ferdinand  signed  the  warrant,  with 
a  heavy  heart ;  but  he  had  no  alternative.  Major 
Panitza  was  shot.  And  even  those  who  lamented  his 
untimely  fate  admitted  that  he  deserved  it,  and  that 
the  success  of  his  treason  might  have  proved  an 
irreparable  disaster  to  his  country. 

^  The    story    of    these    plots    is    well    summarised    in    Mr.    Bcaman's 
Stambouloff. 


XXIII 

THE  PRINCE  BIDING  HIS  TIME 

From  the  birth  of  M.  Stambouloff's  great  ministry  to 
May  1894,  ^^^  ^^te  of  M.  Stambouloff's  downfall, 
Prince  Ferdinand  appeared  to  lead  the  life  of  a  rot 
faineanty  the  very  sort  of  life  he  had  vowed  not  to 
lead.  But  his  supposed  indolence  was  merely  appar- 
ent. His  acquiescence  in  M.  Stambouloff's  direction 
of  affairs  was  in  reality  an  indication  of  his  strength  of 
character.  Before  the  Prince's  advent,  and  during 
the  earlier  part  of  the  above-named  period,  Stam- 
bouloff  was  the  incarnation  of  Bulgaria.  He  had 
steered  the  Ship  of  State  through  the  breakers. 
Stambouloff  was  the  man  Bulgaria  needed  during  a 
particular  crisis  of  her  career.  But  the  shrewd  Prince 
foresaw  a  time  when  Stambouloff  would  prove  a 
serious  hindrance  to  the  solution  of  the  Russo- 
Bulgar — in  other  words,  the  Bulgarian-European 
question.  He  would  interfere  as  little  as  possible 
with  his  despotic  Prime  Minister,  and  bide  his  time. 
But  the  European  press  failed  to  understand  the 
situation.  Prince  Ferdinand  was  very  generally  ridi- 
culed. French  journalists  twitted  the  Saviour  of 
Society  who  *  hid  himself  in  M.  Stambouloff's 
shadow.'  The  caricaturists  were  busy  with  him.  It 
seemed  to  be  the  general  impression  that  his  reign 
would  not  last  long.    It  said  much  for  Mr.  Shaw 

171 


172  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Lefevre's  perspicacity  that,  as  early  as  1890,  he  dis- 
cerned the  Prince's  *  ability  and  conscientiousness,' 
and  the  probability  of  his  permanent  success.  Such 
was  the  ridicule  and  abuse  to  which  the  Prince  was 
subjected  by  a  portion  of  the  continental  press  during 
the  early  period  of  his  reign  that  his  mother,  Princess 
Clementine,  shed  tears  when  she  read  the  first  com- 
plimentary appreciations  of  him.  So  M.  Alexandre 
Hepp  writes  in  his  biography  of  the  Prince. 

Even  in  his  *  prison  palace  ' — to  use  an  expression 
current  at  the  time — the  Prince  was  by  no  means  an 
idler.  Nor  did  time  hang  heavy  on  his  hands.  He 
worked  hard  at  Bulgarian,  in  which,  as  we  have 
already  recorded,  he  made  his  preliminary  studies  at 
the  time  of  his  first  intercourse  with  Stambouloff's 
envoys.  He  spent  hours  every  day  in  reading  his- 
tories of  South-Eastern  Europe,  and  books  and 
articles  on  Bulgaria's  natural  resources,  chiefly  in 
agriculture.  English,  Italian,  German,  Hungarian, 
Russian,  and  French  newspaper  articles  on  the  Near 
Eastern  question  he  read  regularly.  It  was  said  of 
him  that  he  was  as  laborious  in  his  studies  as  the 
hardest  worked  secretary  in  any  European  cabinet. 

And,  of  course,  his  *  prison  '  doors  were  always 
open.  Numberless  were  the  trips  which  he  made, 
during  those  years  of  waiting,  through  Bulgaria  and 
to  foreign  countries.  It  often  happened  that  the 
Sofians  imagined  their  Prince  to  be  at  his  bookworm 
pastime  in  the  palace  (never  an  attractive  residence, 
by  the  way),  when  all  the  while  he  was  on  the  Black 


THE  PRINCE  BIDING  HIS  TIME      173 

Sea  coast,  planning  the  development  of  Varna  and 
Bourgas,  or  mountain-climbing  on  the  southern 
frontier,  or  looking  up  the  abbot  and  monks  of  the 
monastery  of  St.  John  of  Rilo.  It  was  in  those  quiet, 
constant  country  trips  of  his  that  Prince  Ferdinand 
acquired  his  extraordinarily  minute  and  comprehen- 
sive knowledge  of  Bulgaria  and  its  people.  It  is 
by  no  means  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  Czar 
Ferdinand  knows  more  about  the  character  and  the 
needs  of  the  Bulgarian  country-people,  who  con- 
stitute the  bulk  and  the  backbone  of  the  nation, 
than  most  of  the  ministers  who  have  served  him. 

Nor  were  his  numerous  journeys  to  foreign  lands 
undertaken,  as  newspaper  writers  often  said  they 
were,  for  mere  pleasure.  Austrian  statesmen,  at 
least,  knew  better.  It  was  Count  Kalnoky  who  had 
said  that  there  remained  in  Bulgaria  certain  tasks  to 
accomplish  which  M.  Stambouloff  (who  always  acted 
as  regent  during  the  Prince's  absence)  was  more 
qualified  than  any  other  minister  to  undertake,  and 
that  if  Stambouloff  were  '  removed  *  (as  the  pan- 
slavist  conspirators  were  always  threatening  to  do), 
anarchy  would  follow.  The  Prince  was  in  com- 
munication with  his  regent.  His  foreign  journeys 
were  designed,  as  M.  Bousquet  has  expressed  it,  to 
*  advertise  '  the  country  of  his  adoption.  It  needed 
advertising.  To  the  newspaper-reading  public  Bul- 
garia was,  and  for  some  few  years  more  continued  to 
be, '  a  country  where  atrocities  were  perpetrated.*  As 
an  *  advertiser,*  Prince  Ferdinand  would  have  had  the 


174  CZAR  FERDINAND 

approbation  of  his  grandfather,  King  Louis-Philippe, 
who  had  in  him  the  makings  of  a  shrewd  bourgeois 
business  man.  While  Stambouloff  was  fighting  con- 
spirators and  chasing  brigand  bands  at  home,  the 
Prince,  through  his  family  connections,  was  trying 
to  win  European  recognition  of  the  new  Bulgarian 
regime.  This  was  a  matter  for  which  the  defiant 
M.  Stambouloff  cared  comparatively  little.  But  to 
the  Prince  it  was  a  matter  of  the  first  importance. 
Though  the  Prince  had  not  yet  visited  Turkey,  his  in- 
direct influence  upon  the  Porte  was  very  considerable. 
Amidst  their  differences  of  opinion,  the  advantage  of  a 
reconciliation  with  Turkey  was  a  subject  on  which  the 
Prince  and  his  minister  were  in  complete  accord.  As 
early  as  1889  Turkey  would  have  recognised  the  new 
order  in  Bulgaria,  but  the  Russian  ambassador  at  Con- 
stantinople effectually  barred  the  way,  and  the  Euro- 
pean Chancelleries  took  their  cue  from  Russia.  In 
his  Wanderjahren  Prince  Ferdinand  found  much  sym- 
pathy, of  a  strictly  private  nature,  at  more  than  one 
European  court.  Foreign  nations  were  entering  into 
commercial  treaties  with  the '  vassal  state.*  The  Turk 
himself  was  doing  it.  In  other  words,  Bulgaria  was 
being  treated  virtually  as  if  she  were  the '  free  and  inde- 
pendent *  state  which  the  Prince  had  proclaimed  her. 
But  while  welcomed  in  private,  Prince  Ferdinand 
(if  certain  of  his  intimate  friends  be  not  misinformed) 
was  sometimes  given  to  understand  that  it  would  be 
convenient  to  his  royal  sympathisers  if  he  would  take 
leave  of  them — in  the  language  of  the  British  police- 


THE  PRINCE  BIDING  HIS  TIME      175 

man, '  Move  on.'  Panslavist  informers  were  dogging 
his  footsteps.  It  was  said  that  he  sometimes  arranged 
to  meet,  in  the  picture-galleries,  museums,  restau- 
rants of  Paris,  or  in  hired  lodgings,  friends  and  confi- 
dential agents  with  whom  it  might  be  inadvisable  to 
converse  elsewhere.  Yet  all  the  world  knew  who 
*  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Murany '  was,  who  occasion- 
ally occupied  rooms  in  one  of  the  hotels  in  the  Rue  de 
Rivoli,  opposite  the  Tuileries  Gardens  and  the  site 
of  the  palace  in  which  his  ancestor  had  reigned. 
Like  the  kindly  King  George  of  Greece,  whose  tragi- 
cal fate  has  shocked  Europe,  the  Prince  loved  to  fre- 
quent the  cafes  of  the  central  boulevards  and  watch 
the  human  tide  passing  by  them.  King  Milan  of 
Servia  was  another  and  more  constant  visitor.  *  Le 
Roi  Milan,  le  Prince  Ferdinand.  C*est  complet. 
Vous  voyez  un  chapitre  des  Rois  en  Exil,'  the  Prince 
whispered  to  his  companion  one  night  in  a  restaurant 
when  he  saw  King  Milan  walk  in  with  a  melancholy 
mien.  Prince  Ferdinand  loved,  as  he  always  does, 
Paris.  Even  the  Rue  du  Bac  had  its  attractions  for 
him,  and  the  Rue  du  Bac  was  in  the  early  nineties — 
the  Prince's  Wanderjahren — ^what  it  is  to-day,  one  of 
the  most  disagreeable  in  Europe.  The  Prince  of 
Bulgaria  must  often  have  stepped  aside  into  the 
gutters  to  make  way  for  a  bare-headed  midinette — 
a  pleasure,  of  course,  in  the  circumstances.  The 
Prince's  tours  were  always  a  pleasant  experience,  but 
all  the  Powers  could  do  just  yet  in  the  way  of  *  recog- 
nition '  was  to  authorise  their  diplomatic  agents  in 


176  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Sofia  to  pay  him  their  dutiful  respects — in  a  judicious 
manner.  *  Ferdinand,  c'est  toi !  Et  bien,  je  suis 
comme  I'Europe :  je  ne  te  reconnais  pas/  was  the 
Due  d'Aumale's  exclamation  on  meeting  with  his 
nephew. 

During  this  waiting  period  of  Prince  Ferdinand's, 
the  autocratic  minister  effected  several  internal  re- 
forms, while  at  the  same  time  falling  out  irretrievably 
with  his  colleagues,  and  hastening  his  own  downfall. 
The  most  useful  and  urgent  of  his  internal  reforms 
was  the  suppression  of  brigandage — ^brigandage  in  the 
right  sense  of  the  word,  not  in  the  Turkish  sense, 
according  to  which  insurgent  patriots  of  the  highest 
character  and  noblest  motives  were  classed  with  high- 
way thieves.  In  fact,  this  sorely  needed  reform  was 
not  exclusively  an  internal  one,  for  the  brigands  whom 
Stambouloff  made  an  end  of  were,  to  a  large  extent, 
associated  with  the  panslavist  agitators.  A  large  band 
of  brigands  commanded  by  a  Captain  Kessaroff ,  who 
had  been  implicated  in  the  kidnapping  of  Prince 
Alexander,  had  been  secretly  organised  by  a  com- 
mittee in  Belgrade.  Steps  had  been  taken  to  prepare 
the  Bulgarian  peasantry  for  co-operation  with  them. 
The  leader  was  assured  that  the  peasants  would  wel- 
come them  with  open  arms.  There  was  evidence  to 
show  that  some  members  of  the  band  had  served  in 
the  Russian  army.  The  leader  and  his  men  were  un- 
deceived :  the  Bulgarian  peasants  were  not  disposed 
to  rebel  against  the  new  order  of  things.  For  brigand 
bands  nothing  remained  but  to  live  upon  the  public. 


THE  PRINCE  BIDING  HIS  TIME      177 

Rich  foreigners,  when  they  could  get  at  them,  were 
their  favourite  prey.  Brigandage  had  been  rife  during 
Prince  Alexander's  troubled  reign.  It  was  an  inherit- 
ance from  the  Turkish  era.  It  flourished  unchecked 
during  the  Regency  and  the  party  wranglings  and 
foreign  intrigues  of  Prince  Ferdinand's  first  years. 
But  now  that  these  intrigues  were  nearly  over  and 
done  with,  the  minister  was  free  to  deal  with  it.  He 
did  it  so  effectually  that  in  little  more  than  twelve 
months  Bulgaria  became  about '  as  safe  as  Hyde  Park.' 

The  country  recognised  this  signal  service.  But, 
as  Mr.  Beaman  says  in  his  biography  of  Stambouloff, 
the  suppression  made  the  minister  many  enemies — 
among  Macedonian  outlaws,  for  example,  who  mixed 
up  politics  with  pillage,  and  were  associated  with 
people  of  their  calling  in  Bulgaria.  Their  enmity, 
writes  the  same  author,  *  may  possibly  terminate  one 
day  in  his  assassination  .  .  .  there  are  dozens  of 
desperate  men  who  can  look  back  on  days  when 
Stambouloff  was  living  amongst  them,  an  outlaw  like 
themselves,  but  who  would  be  ready  and  pleased  to 
murder  him  to-day  for  the  stern  repression  which  he 
exercised  throughout  the  tenure  of  his  premiership.' 
The  passage  is  interesting  because  of  its  bearing  upon 
the  question  of  responsibility  for  the  minister's  ass- 
assination— a  responsibility  which  in  some  quarters 
was  attributed  to  Prince  Ferdinand  himself.  But  to 
this  subject  we  shall  return  in  a  later  chapter. 

In  his  next  conspicuous  enterprise  M.  Stambouloff 
had  again  Prince  Ferdinand's  entire  sympathy  and 


M 


178  CZAR  FERDINAND 

encouragement.  This  was  his  journey  to  Constanti- 
nople and  remarkable  interview  with  the  Sultan : 
his  one  great  success  in  foreign  policy.  The  visit 
took  place  in  the  autumn  of  1892,  shortly  after  Prince 
Ferdinand's  return  from  a  European  tour  in  search  of 
a  wife.  The  outright  Prime  Minister  had  been  urging 
his  bachelor  master  to  go  and  get  married.  *  Your 
dilatory  habit  in  this  matter,'  M.  Stambouloff  would 
say  in  effect,  *  is  a  positive  danger  to  your  "  nouvelle 
patrie  " ;  we  want  you  to  found  a  dynasty,  and  the 
sooner  it 's  done  the  better.  But  that  is  what  our 
enemies  do  not  want,  and  so,  you  see,  as  long  as  you 
remain  a  bachelor  you  run  the  risk  of  assassination, 
and  we  the  risk  of  anarchy  if  you  are  assassinated  ; 
whereas,  if  you  give  your  "  nouvelle  patrie  "  a  son  and 
heir,  those  rascals  would  hardly  think  it  worth  their 
trouble  to  kill  you,  while  we,  your  subjects,  would 
feel  secure — whatever  might  happen.' 

It  was  during  the  Prince's  absence  that  M.  Stam- 
bouloff received  from  the  Grand  Vizier,  in  the  Sul- 
tan's name,  an  invitation  to  Yildiz  Kiosk.  Acting  as 
he  was  in  the  capacity  of  regent,  M.  Stambouloff  was 
not,  for  the  time  being,  in  a  position  to  accept  it.  But 
Prince  Ferdinand  on  his  return  gave  his  cordial 
assent  to  the  projected  journey.  Some  years  had  yet 
to  pass  before  the  Prince  himself  could  visit  his 
*  suzerain.'  And  in  the  meantime  there  might  be 
effected  a  step  nearer  to  the  goal  which  the  Prince 
always  had  in  view — ^friendship  with  the  Turkish 
Government.    And  this  was  M.  Stambouloff 's  own 


THE  PRINCE  BIDING  HIS  TIME      179 

sincere  desire.  It  was,  perhaps,  the  only  point  on 
which  the  Prince  and  his  minister  were  in  complete 
agreement.  Stambouloff  in  his  day — especially  in 
the  days  when  the  pashas  would  have  given  a  good 
round  sum  for  his  '  brigand  *  head — had  harried  and 
cursed  the  Turk.  But  times  had  changed.  And  the 
object  of  Stambouloff's  implacable  hatred  was  not  the 
Turk  but  the  Russian.  Stambouloff  would  gladly 
have  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Turk.  The  Turk 
was  also  well  aware  that  neither  Prince  Ferdinand  nor 
Stambouloff  had,  then  at  least,  any  designs  on  Mace- 
donia. They  had  more  urgent  business  on  hand  at 
home. 

So  Prince  Ferdinand's  minister  was  received  at 
Stamboul  with  extraordinary  honours.  The  bluff, 
unconventional  Bulgar  seems  to  have  been  captivated 
by  the  exquisitely  urbane  Sultan  Abdul  Hamid.  He 
was  not  the  first,  nor  was  he  the  last,  to  feel  the 
strange  charm  of  the  *  Red  Sultan ' — Mr.  Gladstone's 
*  Assassin ' — whose  murderous  record  was  perhaps  the 
most  awful  in  Turkish  annals.  One  wonders  whether, 
on  the  courteous,  smiling,  affable  *  Red  Sultan's  ' 
part,  there  may  have  been  any  fellow  feeling.  For 
the  Sultan's  agents  in  Sofia  kept  him  well  informed 
about  Stambouloff's  all-pervading  system  of  espion- 
age, his  wholesale  arrests  on  mere  suspicion,  and,  so 
it  was  reported,  his  authorisation  of  torture  in  prison. 
The  *  Red  Sultan,'  with  his  grim  sense  of  humour, 
may  have  reflected  that,  after  all,  his  Christian  guest 
governed  pretty  much  like  a  Turk. 


i8o  CZAR  FERDINAND 

With  one  exception,  the  embassies  in  Constan- 
tinople viewed  Stambouloff's  visit  with  sympathy. 
The  exception  was  Russia's.  The  Russian  ambas- 
sador, it  was  well  known,  attempted  to  dissuade  the 
Sultan  from  receiving  the  Bulgarian  minister.  Abdul 
Hamid,  to  his  credit,  stuck  to  his  resolution.  He 
knew  that  Prince  Ferdinand  was  more  trustworthy 
than  the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias.  In  perfect  sincerity, 
the  Bulgarian  minister  sought  to  impress  the  Sultan 
with  his  ideas  of  an  alliance  against  external  aggres- 
sion. Russia,  of  course,  was  the  enemy.  Stam- 
bouloff  found  in  Sultan  Abdul  Hamid  a  most  willing 
and  flattering  listener.  When  he  returned  to  Sofia  he 
could  report  truthfully  to  Prince  Ferdinand  that  the 
Caliph  was  in  the  mood  to  make  friends  with  his  too 
independent  *  vassal.' 

Prince  Ferdinand  was  gratified  with  the  result. 
But  whereas  the  Prince's  main  purpose  in  seeking 
reconciliation  with  Turkey  was  to  turn  it  to  account 
in  making  similar  overtures  elsewhere,  the  minister's 
motive  was  hostility  to  Russia,  the  Power  which  the 
Prince  most  desired  to  pacify.  In  Stambouloff's 
mind  Russia  was  the  ubiquitous,  unresting  foe.  It 
was  often  said,  with  some  show  of  plausibility,  that 
the  Russian  bogey  would  vanish  if  Stambouloff  would 
but  leave  it  alone.  Such  was  the  explanation  given  by 
Sofian  Russophiles  of  the  milder  sort,  when  they  were 
reminded  of  Russia's  threat  that  there  could  be  no 
peace  between  Russia  and  Bulgaria  so  long  as  Stam- 
bouloff lived — or  remained  in  power.    Stambouloff's 


THE  PRINCE  BIDING  HIS  TIME      i8i 

unrelenting  attitude  was  easily  explicable.  He  had 
known  in  person  the  treachery,  impudence,  arrogance, 
and  callous  brutality  of  Russia's  agents,  whereas  the 
Prince  had  known  them  for  the  most  part  only  by 
hearsay.  This  divergence  of  view  was  the  first  great 
cause  of  the  antagonism,  soon  to  reach  its  irremediable 
stage,  between  Prince  Ferdinand  and  his  minister. 

Another  cause  was  the  ruthlessness  of  the  min- 
ister's treatment  of  offenders,  real  or  imaginary. 
Whether  the  fact  had  ever  struck  Sultan  Abdul  Hamid 
or  not,  the  Bulgarian  minister  had  for  years  governed 
to  a  great  extent  by  Turkish  methods,  Stambouloff 
was  for  severity.  Prince  Ferdinand  for  leniency.  At 
the  beginning  of  his  reign  he  commuted  to  a  sentence 
of  imprisonment  the  sentence  of  death  which  Stam- 
bouloff would  have  inflicted  upon  Major  Popoff  and 
his  fellow-conspirators. 


XXIV 

BREACH   BETWEEN  THE   PRINCE 
AND  STAMBOULOFF 

To  Czar  Ferdinand  *s  nervous  dread  of  cruelty  in  any 
shape  or  form  allusion  has  been  made  in  a  preceding 
page.  The  same  trait  in  his  character  is  remarked  in 
the  critical  and  descriptive  articles  of  the  daily  press  on 
the  fall  of  Adrianople/  in  which  the  prolongation  of 
the  siege  is  in  a  large  measure  attributed  to  his 
anxiety  to  save  the  city  from  the  horrors  of  capture 
by  assault.  The  Prince  frequently  remonstrated  with 
his  Prime  Minister  because  of  his  ruthless  severity. 
Stambouloff  would  reply  almost  in  the  words  of  the 
American  moralist  whose  Christian  duty  to  his  enemy 
was  to  *  Do  to  him  what  he  would  do  to  you  ;  only  do 
it  first.*  And  so  the  minister  would  excuse  himself, 
in  a  grim  or  airy  way  according  to  circumstances,  that 
the  people  whom  he  was  imprisoning  would  treat  him 
as  mercilessly  were  he  in  their  power.  He  was  un- 
aware how  near  was  the  hour  of  their  hideous  revenge. 
His  enemies  were  growing  in  numbers  day  by  day,  and 
his  own  methods  of  dealing  with  them  more  auto- 
cratic. As  Mr.  Beaman  writes  with  his  habitual  im- 
partiality :  *  Stambouloff  grew  more  dictatorial  with 
success.  He  would  scarcely  brook  the  expression  of 
contrary  opinion  even  from  Prince  Ferdinand.    It 

^  25th  March  1913. 


182 


THE  PRINCE  AND  STAMBOULOFF    183 

was  partly  this  superstitious  trust  in  his  own  star 
which  led  to  his  fall.' 

Yet  the  minister  had  personal  reasons  for  inflicting 
the  severities  that  won  for  the  later  years  of  his  admini- 
stration the  name  of  the  Reign  of  Terror  !    The  pan- 
slavists  in  and  outside  Bulgaria  had  only  changed 
their  tactics.    Instead  of  attacking  Prince  Ferdinand 
directly,  they  attacked  his  minister.    They  hoped  to 
frighten  the  Prince  into  subservience  to  Russia  (for 
his   mere  *  gratitude '  to  the   liberator  they   cared 
nothing)  by  putting  him  to  death.    The  more  hopeful 
among  them  expected  that  the  Prince,  disgusted  and 
wearied,  would  abdicate.     In  March  1891  Stambou- 
loff  owed  to  the  trivial  accident  of  his  moving  from 
one  side  to  the  other  of  the  pavement  along  which  he 
and  his  friend  and  ministerial  colleague,  M.  Belcheff, 
were  walking,  his  escape  from  assassination.     The 
murderers,  mistaking  their  victim,  who  in  personal 
appearance  resembled  Stambouloff,  killed  M.  Belcheif . 
The  murderers  escaped.  The  Prime  Minister  arrested 
numbers  of  people  on  suspicion  of  complicity  with  the 
criminals.  •  Among   them   was   his   friend   and   ex- 
colleague,  M.  Karaveloff.     Stories  of  prison  tortures 
were  spread  abroad.    Madame  Karaveloff,  informed 
— ^whether  rightly  or  wrongly — that  her  husband  had 
been  subjected  to  gross  treatment,  attempted  to  get 
the  representatives  of  the  foreign  Powers  in  Sofia  to 
interfere  on  his  behalf.    A  foreign  correspondent  was 
expelled  for  having  alleged   that   evidence   against 
suspects  was  procured  by  bribery  and  terror,  and 


1 84  CZAR  FERDINAND 

that  prisoners  were  subjected  to  torture.  The  prefect 
of  police  was  accused  of  having  put  at  least  one  of  the 
suspects  to  torture.  But  there  was  nothing  to  show 
that  M.  Stambouloff  was  in  any  way  responsible  for 
such  misdeeds.  The  next  victim  during  this  reign 
of  terror  was  another  personal  friend  and  colleague 
of  the  Prime  Minister's,  and,  like  him,  an  implac- 
able foe  of  Russia — M.  Vulkovitch,  the  Bulgarian 
diplomatic  agent  in  Constantinople.  Though  this 
murder  was  perpetrated  in  the  Turkish  capital,  Stam- 
bouloff, following  his  usual  practice,  made  numerous 
arrests  of  suspected  persons  in  Sofia.  The  assassins 
escaped. 

These  murders  aroused  intense  indignation  in 
Bulgaria,  where  the  two  victims  were  extremely 
popular.  They  also  had  the  effect  of  arousing  sym- 
pathy for  the  minister  himself.  That  is  to  say, 
among  the  country  population,  who  always  regarded 
Stambouloff  as  their  foremost  patriot,  and  who  well 
knew  that  the  assassins,  in  striking  down  the  Finance 
Minister  and  the  diplomatic  agent,  were  aiming  at  the 
Prime  Minister.  The  effect  on  the  panslavist  poli- 
ticians, civil  and  military,  was,  of  course,  very  differ- 
ent. The  game  of  murder  had  proved  a  failure. 
But  by  causing  quarrels  in  the  Cabinet  itself  and 
fanning  the  Prince's  growing  resentment  against 
Stambouloff,  they  hoped  to  get  rid  of  the  hated 
'  tyrant.'  At  this  period,  however,  Stambouloff  was 
unassailable.  His  repressive  measures  had  been  harsh 
in  the  extreme,  but  they  had  cleared  Bulgaria  of  its 


THE  PRINCE  AND  STAMBOULOFF    185 

hired  murderers.    They  gave  the  country  an  interval 
of  peace  and  security. 

It  was  a  sign  of  reHef  in  the  Prince's  own  mind 
when  in  March  1893  His  Highness  invited  M.  Stam- 
bouloff  to  accompany  him  on  his  journey  to  Pianore, 
where  his  marriage  with  Princess  Marie  Louise  of 
Parma  was  to  take  place.  The  mere  fact  that  the 
terrible  minister  should  have  absented  himself  even 
for  so  comparatively  short  a  holiday — for  holiday  it 
was,  in  spite  of  '  dynastic  '  significance — seemed  to 
indicate  that  Bulgaria  had  nothing  more  to  fear  from 
sedition-mongers.  The  minister's  trip  to  Italy, 
though  less  talked  about,  was  as  noteworthy  as  his 
trip  to  Constantinople.  At  Vienna,  where  Prince 
Ferdinand  halted,  and  where,  of  course,  he  was 
familiarly  known,  M.  Stambouloff,  whom  none  knew 
except  by  hearsay,  was  *  lionised  '  even  in  the  most 
exalted  quarters.  Count  Kalnoky,  who  had  formed 
a  just  appreciation  of  him  years  before,  had  long  con- 
versations with  him.  The  Emperor  Francis  Joseph 
also  gave  him  a  flattering  reception — not,  of  course,  of 
the  official  order,  for  Prince  Ferdinand  himself  was 
not  yet  *  recognised.'  Still,  the  Vienna  visit  was  a 
step  towards  the  European  condonation  of  Prince 
Ferdinand's  '  freedom  and  independence.'  It  has 
been  recorded  how  the  Russian  ambassador  at  Con- 
stantinople attempted  to  prevent  the  interview  be- 
tween the  Sultan  and  the  Bulgarian  '  usurper's  '  chief 
minister.  His  colleague  in  Vienna  dared  not  take  a 
similar  liberty  with  Francis  Joseph.    But  he  showed 


1 86  CZAR  FERDINAND 

his  displeasure.  He  sulked.  So  the  good-natured 
and  diplomatic  monarch,  after  his  talk  with  the  Bul- 
garian Premier,  called  upon  His  Excellency,  and 
doubtless  gave  him  a  satisfactory  explanation.  In 
the  spring  of  1893  all  the  European  Powers,  but  for 
Russia,  would  have  recognised  Prince  Ferdinand. 

On  the  20th  April  took  place  the  Prince's  marriage 
with  the  Princess  Marie  Louise.  And  the  *  Red 
Sultan,*  with  his  undoubted  talent  for  doing  the 
courteously  right  thing  at  the  right  moment  in  the 
right  way,  telegraphed  his  congratulations  to  the 
Prince.  The  Prince  had  *  strengthened  the  Bul- 
garian Principality,'  said  the  Sultan  to  the  *  vassal ' 
who  had  taken  possession  without  his  superior's 
leave.  It  is  possible  that  in  despatching  this  gracious 
message  the  Sultan  may  have  been  influenced  by 
recollection  of  his  talk  with  Stambouloff . 

For  Prince  Ferdinand  and  for  M.  Stambouloff  it 
might  have  been  fortunate  if  at  this  turning-point  in 
the  history  of  Bulgaria  the  minister  had  definitely 
retired  from  office.  Had  he  done  so,  the  frightful 
crime  of  July  1894  might  not  have  been  perpetrated, 
and  many  of  Bulgaria's  foremost  men,  now  living, 
might  have  been  spared  bitter  pangs  of  remorse.  It 
was  the  apt  moment  for  resignation.  Stambouloff 
had  done  his  greatest  and  best  work.  His  perpetual 
fame  in  the  story  of  South-Eastern  Europe  was 
assured.  The  country  was  growing  peaceful.  And 
the  great  minister  had  no  craving  for  office — never 
had,  except  when  he  knew  that  his  services  to  his 


BORIS^    CROWN    I'RINCE   OF   BULGARIA 


THE  PRINCE  AND  STAMBOULOFF    187 

country  were  indispensable.  In  fact,  he  did  tender 
his  resignation  to  the  Prince  in  person  immediately 
on  his  return  with  the  Princess  Marie  Louise  to  Sofia, 
whither  StamboulofF  had  preceded  him.  The  Prince, 
with  a  kindliness  and  cordiality  that  left  nothing  to  be 
desired,  refused  to  accept  his  minister's  resignation. 
He  let  it  clearly  be  seen  that  he  appreciated  Stam- 
bouloff's  loyalty  to  himself  personally,  as  well  as  to 
his  country.  And  M.  Stambouloff  consented  to 
remain  at  his  post. 

The  greatest  proof  of  the  minister's  loyalty  to 
Prince  Ferdinand  was  the  step  which  he  took  immedi- 
ately after  the  marriage  to  annul  the  constitutional 
article  which  provided  that  the  heir  to  the  throne  must 
be  baptized  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Orthodox 
Bulgarian  Church.    Though  Prince  Ferdinand  him- 
self was  a  good  Catholic,  there  was  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  he  attached  any  vitally  religious  importance 
to  a  ceremonial  distinction.    But  his  father-in-law, 
the  Duke  of  Parma,  had  made  it  a  condition  of  his 
daughter's   marriage   that   her   children   should   be 
baptized  into  the  Church  of  Rome.    And  the  Princess 
was  as  rigid  a  Catholic  as  her  father.    On  the  other 
hand,  the  great  bulk  of  the  Bulgarian  people  was 
ardently  Orthodox,  not  only  for  religious  reasons, 
but  also,  as  explained  in  a  foregoing  chapter,  for 
political  reasons,  ages  of  persecution  by  the  monopo- 
lising Greek  Church  having  indissolubly  associated 
in  their  minds  the  idea  of  the  Church  with  that  of  the 
State.    To  the  trading  politicians,  the  '  arrivists,'  the 


1 88  CZAR  FERDINAND 

panslavists,  whom  the  mass  of  the  nation  held  in 
small  esteem,  Stambouloff  was  the  '  tyrant.'  To  the 
mass  of  the  people  the  minister  was  fast  becoming 
the  *  heretic'  Here  was  another  opportunity,  and  a 
rare  one,  for  Stambouloff 's  inveterate  foes,  the  pro- 
Russian  party.  Russophiles,  with  no  more  religion  in 
them  than  in  a  black  beetle,  turned  up  their  eyes  in 
pious  horror  at  the  'tyrant's'  *  insult'  to  his  country's 
faith.  Every  pious  Russian  in  the  Empire  of  the 
Great  White  Czar  would  be  shocked  at  the  infidelity  of 
a  minister  who  was  himself  a  Slav.  For  the  Prince,  no 
less  than  for  the  minister,  it  was  a  perplexing  situa- 
tion. The  proposed  revision  of  the  article  would 
still  further  widen  the  breach  between  the  Prince  and 
the  Emperor  whom  he  desired  to  conciliate. 

Stambouloff's  argument  for  the  revision  was 
purely  and  simply  that  of  political  expediency.  For 
Bulgaria,  he  argued,  it  was  a  matter  of  life  and  death 
that  a  dynasty  should  be  founded,  and  the  Parma 
marriage,  so  desirable  in  every  respect,  could  not 
have  been  arranged  without  acceptance  of  the  Duke's 
stipulation.  To  win  the  consent  of  his  ministerial 
colleagues  and  of  the  nation's  representatives  was  one 
of  the  hardest  battles  of  Stambouloff's  life.  He  did 
win  it.  And  he  told  one  of  his  intimate  friends  that 
after  the  affair  was  over  he  felt  *  as  Jacob  felt  after  his 
wrestling  with  God.' 

Stambouloff's  revision  of  the  thirty-eighth  article 
was  characterised  by  his  foes  as  the  crowning  offence 
in  his  autocratic  career.    But,  quite  apart  from  this 


THE  PRINCE  AND  STAMBOULOFF    189 

daring  feat,  the  great  minister  had  given  too  many 
demonstrations  of  his  despotic  spirit.  He  had  grown 
more  and  more  self-willed  as  the  years  passed.  Some 
of  his  most  powerful  colleagues  in  the  great  ministry 
had  not  only  resigned,  but  attacked  him  and  his 
policy  constantly  and  abusively  in  the  journal  they 
had  founded  for  the  express  purpose.  They  were 
violently  pro- Russian.  They  proclaimed  urhi  et  orbi 
that  Stambouloff  was  fast  leading  the  country  to 
perdition.  Stambouloff  in  his  own  organ  paid  them 
back  in  their  own  coin.  It  was  not  an  edifying  spec- 
tacle. They  even  accused  the  minister  of  aiming  at 
supreme  power.  And  it  was  the  fact  that  his  nomi- 
nees were  predominant  in  almost  every  administra- 
tive department.  He  had  not  shrunk  from  making 
the  plain  confession  in  the  Legislative  Chamber  that 
he  considered  arrest  on  suspicion  an  effective  method 
of  checking  conspiracies.  What  alarmed  his  audience 
was  the  extent  to  which  he  put  his  dangerous,  if 
occasionally  admissible,  theory  into  practice.  He  was 
also  accused  of  *  pretorianism '  because  of  certain 
alleged  attempts  of  his  to  supersede  the  Prince 
(Commander-in-chief  by  the  Constitution)  in  the 
control  of  the  army.  His  own  explanation  was  that 
his  sole  purpose  was  to  prevent  favouritism.  This 
point  of  military  responsibility  was  one  on  which 
Prince  Ferdinand  was  particularly  sensitive.  Stam- 
bouloff had  acquired  the  habit  of  treating  his  minis- 
terial colleagues  as  if  they  were  departmental  clerks. 
As  his  apologist,  with  his  habitual  candour,  remarks. 


190  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Stambouloff  often  provoked  the  Prince  himself  '  be- 
yond endurance  by  his  rough  and  insulting  language.' 
The  growing  estrangement  between  the  Prince  and 
his  minister  confirmed  the  leaders  of  the  pro-Russian 
opposition  in  their  resolution  of  war  to  the  knife. 
They  played  upon  the  Prince's  feeling  of  injured 
pride,  and  of  impatience  under  his  minister's  arrogant 
control.  These  leaders  were  the  ex-ministers  Stoiloff , 
Natchevitch,  Stransky,  and  Radoslavoff.  They  had 
a  powerful  associate  in  Major  Petroff,  Chief  of  the 
Staff,  a  protege  of  the  Prince's.  Stambouloff 's  quar- 
rel with  the  Prince  over  Petroff 's  appointment  to  the 
War  Office  was  one  of  the  immediate  causes  of 
StamboulofT's  downfall. 

Before  this  particular  quarrel.  Major  Petroff  was 
said  to  have  been  implicated  with  no  less  a  personage 
than  the  Prince  himself  in  a  plot  against  Stambouloff ! 
To  cut  a  long  and  complicated  story  short,  the  major 
and  one  or  two  other  officers  were  to  meet  at  the 
palace  late  at  night,  when  the  town  was  asleep,  and 
while  Stambouloff  was  in  consultation  with  the 
Prince.  The  officers  were  then  to  pounce  upon  him, 
and  force  him,  at  the  sword's  point,  to  sign  there  and 
then  his  resignation.  Resignation  or  death,  and  in 
the  Prince's  presence  !  There  must  have  been  some 
grounds  for  a  story  which  in  its  current  form  was 
incredible.  In  the  first  place,  the  Prince  was  the  last 
person  in  the  world  to  approve  of  any  such  act  of 
brutality.  As  we  have  elsewhere  said,  cruelty  in  any 
shape  or  form  was  abhorrent  to  his  nature.    In  the 


^3      ^ 


THE  PRINCE  AND  STAMBOULOFF    191 

second  place,  such  a  plot  would  have  been  ridicu- 
lously needless,  for  it  was  notorious  that  Stambouloff 
had  repeatedly  asked  Prince  Ferdinand  for  permission 
to  resign.  At  the  same  time,  it  seems  clear  that 
Stambouloff  himself  believed  in  the  authenticity  of 
the  plot,  for  Mr.  Beaman  quotes  a  letter  which 
Stambouloff  wrote  to  the  Prince.    It  runs  thus  : — 

*  Your  Highness  has  not  learnt  in  seven  years  to  know  me 
if  you  think  I  could  be  forced  into  signing  anything.  You 
might  cut  off  my  hands  and  feet,  but  you  could  never  compel 
me  to  do  what  I  do  now  voluntarily  and  of  my  own  free  will. 
Here  is  my  resignation  signed  and  undated.  Take  it  and 
keep  it  by  you,  if  you  think  it  will  help  you.  From  this 
moment  I  am  no  longer  your  minister,  and  I  warn  you,  sire, 
that  if  you  treat  your  new  one  as  you  have  treated  me,  your 
throne  is  not  worth  a  louis.' 

But  the  final  breach  had  not  yet  come.  It  would 
seem  as  if  the  habit  of  suspicion  had  at  last  warped 
Stambouloff *s  own  mind. 

More  serious  was  the  affair  in  which  Major  Petroff 
and  Major  Savoff  —  now  the  world-famed  Com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  Bulgarian  army  in  Thrace 
— were  rivals  for  the  post  of  War  Minister.  Major 
Savoff,  a  silent,  hard-working  officer,  somewhat  grim 
in  manner,  keeping  aloof  from  political  strife,  known 
to  be  possessed  of  a  rare  talent  for  organisation,  was 
Stambouloff 's  favourite.  Petroff,  also  a  man  of  real 
ability,  was  the  Prince's.  But  the  Prime  Minister 
installed  his  own  candidate. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  a  curious  scandal  arose,  in 


192  CZAR  FERDINAND 

which  Savoff  was  the  victim — the  self-tormentor,  as 
it  turned  out — and  which  must  be  dismissed  in  a  few 
words.  In  a  fit  of  marital  jealousy,  Major  Savoff 
insisted  on  fighting  a  duel  with  the  cabinet  minister 
whom  he  accused.  The  seconds  on  both  sides,  after 
due  inquiry,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  chal- 
lenger's suspicions  were  groundless.  Stambouloff 
agreed  with  them,  but  in  a  manner  that  angered 
Savoff,  who  thereupon  sent  Stambouloff  himself  a 
challenge.  The  minister  took  no  notice  of  it.  Savoff 
then  accused  him  of  cowardice.  And  Stambouloff 
retaliated  by  publishing  in  his  paper,  the  Svohoda^  a 
private  letter,  in  which  Savoff  had  begged  for  the 
Prince's  protection  against  Stambouloff.  The  Prince 
at  once  denounced  this  as  a  *  base  trick,'  which  it 
certainly  was.  Savoff,  in  his  indignation,  resigned 
office.  This  time  the  Prince's  favourite,  Major  Petroff , 
was  installed  in  place  of  Stambouloff 's  new  candidate, 
and  in  spite  of  the  minister's  strenuous  opposition. 
It  was  Prince  Ferdinand's  first  victory  over  his 
despotic  minister — ^won  after  repeated  offers  of  resig- 
nation on  one  side  and  of  abdication  on  the  other. 
Stambouloff's  star  was  waning.  Prince  Ferdinand 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  be  his  own  master. 


XXV 

STAMBOULOFFS  ATTACKS  ON  THE  PRINCE 

But  though  Prince  Ferdinand,  in  the  estimation  of  all 
who  really  knew  him,  could  not  be  supposed  to  have 
sympathised,  even  in  the  remotest  degree,  with 
Petroff's  (alleged)  melodramatic  plot,  he  never  hesi- 
tated to  express  his  opinion  in  the  frankest  manner 
on  the  tendencies  of  his  Prime  Minister's  anti-Russian 
policy.  As  we  have  already  said,  he  remonstrated 
with  Stambouloff  himself.  On  the  same  thorny  sub- 
ject he  expressed  himself,  in  the  most  emphatic 
manner  and  quite  openly,  to  M.  Stambouloff 's  min- 
isterial colleagues — to  M.  Petkoff,  for  example, 
Stambouloff 's  own  warmest  friend,  and  President 
of  the  Legislative  Chamber. 

It  was  not  only  to  M.  Stambouloff 's  unauthorised 
publication  of  Savoff's  letter  to  the  Prince — a  letter  of 
a  private  character — that  the  Prince  applied  the 
adjective  *  base.'  He  applied  it  to  the  minister's 
general  treatment  of  his  opponents.  Stambouloff 
was  not  the  man  to  submit  quietly  to  criticism  of  that 
kind.  '  I  hope,'  he  wrote  in  a  letter  of  protest  to  the 
Prince,  *  that  Your  Highness  may  be  more  fortunate 
in  your  choice  of  your  next  adviser  ;  and  that  you 
may  discover  some  statesman,  of  lofty  sentiments  and 
refined  manners,  so  that  you  may  not  be  under  the 
necessity  of  designating  it  as  "  base."    It  cannot  be 


194  CZAR  FERDINAND 

to  the  credit  either  of  the  Bulgarian  people  or  of  their 
Prince  that  a  Bulgarian  Minister  should  by  his  con- 
duct incur  any  such  condemnation.'  On  the  29th 
May  the  Prince,  who  had  been  absent  for  some  time, 
returned  to  Sofia.  According  to  custom,  M.  Stam- 
bouloff,  whose  last  offer  of  resignation  had  not  yet 
been  accepted,  should  have  called  upon  the  Prince. 
He  did  not.  Nor  did  he  present  himself  the  next  day, 
the  Prince's  fete  day,  which  was  celebrated  with  a 
military  parade.  Then  the  Prince  sent  for  him. 
M.  Stambouloff  obeyed  the  summons.  After  a  few 
moments  of  formal,  rather  constrained,  conversation, 
the  Prince — with  the  cold  courtesy  which  he  knows 
how  to  assume  when  he  thinks  the  occasion  needs  it — 
informed  M.  Stambouloff  that  his  resignation  was 
accepted.  The  fallen  minister's  friends  and  foes 
alike  alleged  that  he  had  been  dismissed.  But  in  this 
case  the  distinction  between  resignation  and  dismissal 
was  shadowy.  Co-operation  between  Prince  and 
minister  had  become  impossible.  Their  views  on 
the  Russian  question — which  also  meant  for  Bulgaria 
a  European  question — ^were  wholly  irreconcilable  ; 
and  the  Russian  question,  now  that  internal  order  had 
been  fairly  established,  was  the  dominant  one.  So 
on  the  30th  May  1894  Stambouloff 's  ministry  of 
seven  years  came  to  an  end,  and  on  the  following  day 
M.  Stoiloff  took  office  as  Premier  and  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  with  Colonel  Petroff  as  Minister  for  War, 
M.  Natchevitch  at  the  Foreign  Office,  M.  Gueshoff 
as  Minister  of  Finance,  M.  Velitchoff  in  the  Depart- 


STAMBOULOFF'S  ATTACKS  ON  PRINCE  195 

ment  of  Public  Instruction,  and  M.  Madjaroff  in  that 
of  Public  Works.  The  majority  of  them  were  Russo- 
philes  of  a  more  or  less  pronounced  colour.  Gueshoff 
and  Natchevitch,  and  perhaps  Petroff,  were  popularly 
regarded  as  extremely  pro-Russian.  It  was  the 
Prince's  desire  to  proclaim,  by  the  composition  of  the 
new  Cabinet,  a  new  orientation  in  Bulgarian  foreign 
policy.  Internal  peace,  reconciliation  with  Russia — 
such  were  the  two  immediate  purposes  which  Prince 
Ferdinand  was  bent  upon  attaining. 

A  few  days  later  Prince  Ferdinand  sent  the  fallen 
minister  a  gracious  letter,  in  which  he  gratefully 
acknowledged  M.  Stambouloff's  signal  services  to  the 
country  and  its  ruler.    M.  Stambouloff  promptly  and 
gladly  returned  the  compliment  by  calling  upon  the 
Prince  and  thanking  him  in  person.    Their  conversa- 
tion lasted  some  hours,  and  was  reported  to  have 
been  as  cordial  on  both  sides  as  it  had  been  in  the 
early  days  at  Tirnovo.    It  took  place  on  the  nth  of 
June.    Yet  this  visit,  that  might  have  extinguished 
old  quarrels,  became  the  starting-point  of  a  feud  still 
more  bitter,  and  destined  to  end  tragically.    With- 
out venturing  to  choose  between  various  explanations 
suggested  at  the  time,  we  shall  state  the  salient  facts. 
While  the  Prince  and  M.  Stambouloff  were  conversing 
in  one  of  the  palace  windows  overlooking  the  street,  a 
great  crowd  gathered  in  front  of  it.    It  was  partly 
made  up  of  Stambouloif's  adherents.    *  Long  live  the 
Prince  ! '   '  Long  live  Stambouloff ! '  they  shouted. 
They  seemed  to  be  under  the  impression  that  the 


196  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Prince  was  about  to  recall  M.  Stambouloff  to  office. 
But  presently  a  band  of  students  from  the  Military 
Academy,  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of  soldiers, 
went  rushing  in  with  cries  of  *  Down  with  Stam- 
bouloff.* A  riot  followed,  in  which  the  dregs  of  the 
Sofian  populace  took  the  cadets'  part.  The  Prince 
and  his  ex-minister  watched  it  all.  Stambouloff,  who 
knew  no  fear,  took  a  friendly  leave  of  the  Prince,  and 
walked  straight  through  the  howling  crowd,  uninjured 
— though  spat  upon  and  aimed  at  with  sticks  and 
stones — to  his  own  house. 

Stambouloff,  on  reaching  home,  was  almost  beside 
himself  with  fury.  He  rushed  impetuously  to  the 
conclusion  that  his  assailants  had  the  secret  support 
of  the  Prince  and  the  new  ministry.  There  were  some 
who  surmised  that  the  riots  were  devised  by  minis- 
terial agents — not  against  Stambouloff  directly,  but 
against  the  Prince  himself !  —  for  the  purpose  of 
deterring  him  from  any  further  intercourse  with  the 
fallen  *  tyrant.'  However  that  may  have  been,  it 
is  certain  that  the  only  arrests  made  in  this  and  suc- 
ceeding riots  were  those  of  persons  supposed  to 
be  *  Stamboulovists,*  and  guilty,  many  of  them,  of 
nothing  more  heinous  than  looking  on  or  protecting 
their  fellow-citizens  from  ill-treatment. 

It  is  also  the  fact  that  from  the  day  of  his  last 
interview  with  Prince  Ferdinand  (nth  of  June)  to  the 
day  of  his  death,  thirteen  months  later,  Stambouloff 
was  almost  a  prisoner  in  his  own  house.  The  gen- 
darmes who  by  order  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior 


STAMBOULOFF'S  ATTACKS  ON  PRINCE  197 

were  posted  at  his  house  night  and  day  to  protect  him 
from  violence,  acted  as  if  they  were  his  prison 
warders.  Even  the  diplomatic  agents  in  Sofia  often 
made  the  remark  that  the  protection  of  Stambouloff 
would  be  more  effective  if  the  notorious  scoundrels 
whom  the  authorities  and  the  public  knew  to  be  on 
the  watch  for  Stambouloff,  who  were  implicated  in 
previous  assassinations  and  in  the  kidnapping  of 
Prince  Alexander,  and  who  were  strolling  unmolested 
about  the  town,  were  put  under  lock  and  key. 

Stambouloff  protested  in  vain  against  the  inqui- 
sitorial guardianship  to  which  he  was  subjected. 
People  were  prohibited  from  visiting  him  without 
official  permission.  But  all  this  while  Stambouloff 's 
own  paper,  edited  by  his  friend,  M.  Petkoff,  was  day 
by  day  assailing  the  Government  and  the  Prince's 
conciliatory  attitude  towards  Russia  in  the  most 
abusive  language.  The  official  organs  retorted  in  the 
same  style.  Both  sides  were  lashing  each  other  into 
a  passion  of  hatred  that  only  blood  could  assuage. 
The  Prince,  said  Stambouloff 's  paper,  was  leading 
Bulgaria  to  her  ruin,  and  all  for  the  sake  of  a  Rus- 
sian nod  of  recognition,  which  it  was  unlikely  that  he 
should  ever  receive,  except  at  the  price  of  treachery  to 
the  country  he  governed.  Stambouloff  saw  nothing 
ahead  but  anarchy. 

And  yet  all  the  while  Bulgaria  was  forging 
ahead  steadily,  though  slowly,  towards  peace  and 
stability.  The  first  month  of  the  year  of  Stambou- 
loff's  downfall  saw  the  birth  of  Prince  Ferdinand's 


198  CZAR  FERDINAND 

son  and  heir,  Prince  Boris  of  Tirnovo — now,  in  his 
twentieth  year,  an  ardent,  intelligent  young  soldier, 
whose  entry  into  Adrianople  by  his  father's  side  is 
while  I  write  announced  in  the  telegraphic  news 
from  *  the  front.'  ^  By  solving  the  dynastic  question, 
the  Prince's  birth  relieved  the  Bulgarian  mind  from  a 
considerable  load  of  anxiety.  We  have  seen  how  seri- 
ously the  dynastic  question  preoccupied  M.  Stambou- 
loff  himself.  Some  months  later  Prince  Ferdinand 
recalled  his  old  foe,  the  ex-Metropolitan  Clement, 
from  his  exile  in  Russia.  Then  there  followed 
a  general  amnesty.  *  Bury  the  hatchet '  was  in 
effect  Prince  Ferdinand's  motto.  He  would  have  no 
Bulgarian  for  an  enemy.  On  that  principle  he  has 
acted  unswervingly  to  this  day.  He  has  manifested 
an  amazing  tact  in  getting  leaders  of  rival  parties  to 
work  together  for  the  common  weal. 

Prince  Ferdinand  well  knew — ^what  Stambouloff 
apparently  did  not  realise — that  the  Great  Powers 
were  desirous  of  a  reconciliation  between  Bulgaria 
and  Russia.  The  Bulgarians  themselves  were  be- 
ginning to  understand  the  Prince's  point  of  view.  At 
one  time  they  were  as  anti-Russian  as  Stambouloff 
himself,  and  they  regarded  with  an  uneasy  suspicion 
the  Prince's  anxiety  to  come  to  terms  with  the  Russian 
autocrat.  Now,  however,  they  saw  clearly  that 
Ferdinand's  spirit  of  '  independence  '  was  no  less 
resolute  than  their  own. 

1  Czar  Ferdinand  and  his  two  sons,  with  the  three  generals,  entered 
Adrianople  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  March. 


STAMBOULOFF'S  ATTACKS  ON  PRINCE  199 

This  subversion  of  the  poHcy  which  he  had 
enforced  throughout  his  career,  coupled  with  the 
Government's  harsh  treatment  of  him  and  his 
belief  that  his  persecutors  were  acting  under  Prince 
Ferdinand's  orders,  drove  Stambouloff,  blinded  by 
anger,  into  the  fatal  mistake  of  his  life.  Refused,  as 
he  bitterly  complained,  a  hearing  in  Bulgaria,  he  took 
steps  to  secure  one  abroad.  In  the  month  of  August 
there  appeared  in  the  Frankfort  Gazette  an  interview 
between  its  correspondent  in  Sofia  and  M.  Stam- 
bouloff. In  this  interview  the  ex-minister  spoke  of 
the  Prince  with  absolute  contempt.  He  gave  his 
interviewer  information  about  the  Prince  of  a  kind 
which  he  should  have  kept  scrupulously  secret.  Mr. 
Beaman,  whose  record  of  these  events  is  very 
circumstantial,  writes  that  this  attempt  to  *  pillory 
the  Prince  in  the  German  press  was  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Prince  an  unpardonable  sin,'  that  the  mere 
fact  that  Stambouloff  alone  knew  *  various  little 
incidents  '  was  a  reason  why  he  *  should  never  have 
divulged  them.'  '  Having  crossed  the  Rubicon  of 
decency,'  there  was  no  return  to  the  *  amenities  '  of 
journalistic  discussion.  In  September  M.  Stam- 
bouloff was  prosecuted  for  criminal  libel  against 
Prince  Ferdinand.  The  trial  lasted  six  months,  and 
gave  rise  to  a  series  of  riots,  in  the  precincts  of  the 
court  and  in  the  streets,  such  as  would  have  disgraced 
any  country  with  any  pretence  to  civilisation.  As 
usual,  Stambouloff  was  the  victim  of  these  disturb- 
ances.   As  his  assailants  generally  escaped,  Stam- 


200  CZAR  FERDINAND 

bouloff's  suspicions  that  they  were  encouraged  in  the 
highest  quarters  became  all  the  more  obstinate.  But, 
in  truth,  it  could  no  longer  be  said  that  only  the 
*  dregs  '  of  the  Sofian  population  were  hostile  to  the 
ex-Dictator.  Among  all  classes,  the  virulent  attacks 
upon  the  Prince  and  the  Government  published  in 
his  paper,  the  Svoboda,  were  causing  profound 
indignation  and  disgust.  And  these  attacks  were 
going  on  simultaneously  with  the  trial.  If  the  abus- 
ive articles  were  not  written  by  M.  Stambouloff,  he 
could  have  stopped  them.  That  is  to  say,  he  himself 
was  guilty  of  the  same  kind  of  conduct  he  attributed 
to  the  public  authorities  when  he  complained  that 
they  refrained  from  protecting  him  from  the  insults 
of  the  mob.  The  Prince  would  have  been  more  than 
human  had  he  not  bitterly  resented  his  ex-minister's 
taunt  that,  in  consequence  of  his  own  egoistic  policy, 
his  throne  wasn't  worth  a  day's  purchase,  that  the 
Bulgarian  people  would  be  justified  in  rising  against 
a  Prince  who  was  sacrificing  their  interests  to  his  own 
trivial  ambition.  '  No  provocation  can  excuse  such 
attacks,'  M.  Stambouloff 's  biographer  wrote,  *  and  no 
friend  of  Stambouloff  can  do  otherwise  than  regret 
that  he  should  countenance  them  in  an  organ  which 
he  controls.'  (The  sentence  just  quoted  was  written 
before  the  final  catastrophe). 

That  a  profound  relief  from  the  tension  of  the  last 
seven  years  followed  Stambouloff's  downfall  and 
the  Prince's  assumption  of  a  direct,  personal  part  in 
the  government  must  have  been  clear  to  every  one 


STAMBOULOFF'S  ATTACKS  ON  PRINCE  201 

except  Stambouloff  himself.  It  was  as  if  the  nation 
were  waking  up  from  a  nightmare.  The  reception 
accorded  to  the  Prince  by  the  Legislative  Chamber 
at  its  reassembling,  some  four  months  after  M.  Stam- 
bouloff's  dismissal,  was  a  revelation  of  the  more  hope- 
ful mood  that  had  taken  possession  of  the  public. 
This  meeting  of  the  Sobranje  interested  the  nation  all 
the  more  because  it  was  the  first  under  a  new  regime. 
Great  crowds  of  people  had  come  even  from  remote 
parts  of  the  country  to  witness  the  ceremony.  It  was 
noticed  that  the  troops  drawn  up  along  the  route 
from  the  palace  to  the  Legislative  Chamber  displayed 
no  arms.  That  in  itself  was  a  sign  of  appeasement. 
Among  the  huge  crowds  of  spectators  there  was  no 
sign  of  unrest.  Within  the  chamber,  where  the 
deputies  and  a  large  assemblage,  including  foreign 
officials,  awaited  the  Prince's  arrival,  leaders  of  groups 
and  their  followers  (parties,  in  the  English  sense  of 
the  word,  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  existed)  were 
fraternising  in  a  manner  quite  new  in  Bulgarian 
parliamentary  life. 

As  has  been  already  recorded,  the  Prince  always 
was  exacting  on  points  of  state  ceremonial  and  court 
etiquette.  The  moment  of  his  leaving  the  palace 
was  announced  to  the  expectant  assembly  by  a  salute 
of  twenty-one  guns.  The  peasant  state  must  be 
taught  the  procedure  of  Western  monarchies.  And 
the  thousands  of  rustics  who  had  travelled  to  Sofia 
were  duly  impressed.  At  any  rate  they  cheered 
most  lustily,  while  the  Prince,  seated  in  his  carriage, 


202  CZAR  FERDINAND 

acknowledged  their  salutations  with  a  truly  royal  grace. 
A  troop  of  Hussars  escorted  the  Prince.  A  line  of 
carriages  containing  the  chief  officers  of  His  High- 
ness's  civil  and  military  households  preceded  the 
Prince's.  The  cavalcade  was  almost  worthy  of  Ver- 
sailles in  the  days  of  le  grand  Monarque,  The  people 
in  the  Legislative  Chamber  could  hear  the  cheering, 
and  the  trumpeting,  and  the  trampling  of  the  horse- 
hoofs.  At  the  entrance  to  the  chamber  the  ministers 
received  the  Prince,  and  escorted  him  to  his  throne. 
The  throne  had  no  splendours  to  remind  the 
audience  of  mediaeval  Tirnovo  and  Preslav.  It  con- 
sisted of  a  large,  high-backed,  straight-armed,  ele- 
vated, gilded  chair  wrought  with  crimson  velvet, 
placed  under  a  silken  canopy.  The  arrangement  was 
simple,  tasteful,  effective.  And  its  occupant,  in  his 
full  military  uniform,  made  an  imposing  appearance. 
The  semi-regal  pomp  presented  a  curious  contrast 
with  the  rustic  simplicity  of  many  of  the  honourable 
members,  seated  or  standing  by  their  little  desks  in 
the  semicircular  rows  of  benches — men  in  immense 
baggy  breeches  of  stout,  serviceable  russet,  in  close- 
fitting  jerkins  with  red  or  blue  sleeves.  Of  the  few 
Turkish  deputies,  some  wore  the  ordinary  fez,  others 
the  turban.  The  Prince's  part  in  the  ceremony  began 
and  ended  with  the  reading  of  his  very  short  speech, 
in  which  he  confided  his  son  and  heir-apparent,  now 
in  his  second  year,  to  the  goodwill  of  the  Bulgarian 
people,  foreshadowed  a  period  of  administrative 
reform,  and  alluded  to  the  '  sister  nation '  to  which 


STAMBOULOFF'S  ATTACKS  ON  PRINCE  203 

Bulgaria  '  owed  her  freedom/  and  with  which  he 
hoped  the  Principality  would  soon  be  reconciled. 
The  short  speech  was  enthusiastically  applauded. 
Though  the  Prince  was,  as  he  still  is,  a  master  in 
the  art  of  concealing  his  emotions,  it  was  easy  to 
perceive  that  he  was  deeply  gratified  by  the  day's 
events.  A  decoration  worn  by  the  Foreign  and 
Prime  Ministers  was  a  premonition  of  the  general 
rapprochement  for  which  the  country  was  longing. 
Ministers  wore  the  Grand  Cordon,  the  first  decoration 
granted  by  the  Sultan  since  Prince  Ferdinand's  advent 
to  any  official  of  the  *  vassal '  state  .^ 

The_deatb„jQ£X^r  Alexander  III.  before  the  end 
of  the  year  removed  the  chief  obstacle  to  the  success 
of  Prince  Ferdinand's  Russian  policy.  The  new  Czar 
had  not  his  father's  excuse  for  resentment  with  the 
Bulgarians  and  their  *  upstart '  Prince.  He  was  more 
amiable,  more  accessible,  more  pacific.  He  was 
touched  by  the  unfeigned  grief  of  the  entire  Bulgarian 
people  at  the  death  of  the  man  whose  services  in  the 
battlefield  for  their  deliverance  from  the  Turk  out- 
weighed all  the  hectoring  and  threatenings  of  later 
years.  Amidst  the  universal  mourning,  the  Prince 
and  his  ministers  sent  a  deputation  with  a  crown  and 
wreath  of  gold,  to  attend  the  Czar's  funeral.  And  the 
Sobranje  voted  an  address  of  sympathy  and  devotion 
to  the  new  Czar.  During  the  discussion  on  this 
matter  the  Prime  Minister  took  the  opportunity  of 
remarking  that  Prince  Ferdinand  had  never  done  any- 

^  Hepp,  Ferdinand  de  Bulgarity  p.  82. 


204  CZAR  FERDINAND 

thing  to  aggravate  the  political  situation  which  he 
found  at  the  time  of  his  election,  and  for  which  he  was 
not  responsible.  Though  not  technically  true,  the 
minister's  statement  was  essentially  true.  The  as- 
sembly received  it  with  loud  applause,  which  was 
renewed  when  the  minister  declared  that  gratitude 
to  Russia  was  in  no  wise  incompatible  with  the  deter- 
mination of  the  Bulgarian  people  to  maintain  their 
*  moral  and  territorial '  independence.  The  Govern- 
ment's activity  in  supporting  the  educational  claims 
of  the  Bulgar  population  in  *  enslaved '  Macedonia 
enhanced  the  rapidly  growing  prestige  of  Prince  Fer- 
dinand's rule,  while  the  meeting  for  the  first  time  of 
a  Slavic  Congress  in  Sofia  dissipated  the  old  enmities 
between  pro-Russians  and  Nationalists. 


XXVI 

PRINCE  FERDINAND  ON  STAMBOULOFF 

But  to  the  desired  reconciliation  there  was  one 
obstacle,  a  formidable  one,  to  be  overcome  in  one  way 
only — and  that  was  Stambouloff  himself.  To  Stam- 
bouloff's  mind,  every  step  of  the  two  *  sister  nations  ' 
— to  quote  Prince  Ferdinand's  expression — towards 
friendship  was  a  step  towards  the  loss  of  Bulgarian 
liberty.  Nationalists,  now  turned  *  Russophile,*  but 
with  the  reservation  of  independence,  had  lost 
patience  with  their  old  leader.  He  knew  it,  and  took 
it  as  a  symptom  of  decay  in  the  spirit  of  the  race. 
But  he  would  fight  to  the  end  even  for  the  lost  cause, 
believing  it  to  be  the  just  one. 

*  Victrix  causa  deis  placuit,  sed  victa  Catoni.' 

The  panslavists  in  St.  Petersburg  gave  their  friends 
and  agents  in  Sofia  to  understand  that  so  long  as 
Stambouloff  lived  there  could  be  no  peace  between 
Bulgaria  and  Russia.  It  was  an  incentive  to  assassina- 
tion. Even  the  foreign  diplomatic  agents  in  Sofia 
warned  M.  Stoiloff  that  the  ex-minister's  life  was  in 
imminent  danger .  They  urged  him  to  grant  M .  Stam- 
bouloff the  permission  he  had  frequently  asked  for, 
to  be  allowed  to  leave  the  country.  The  doctors  had 
reported  that  the  state  of  M.  Stambouloff 's  health 
necessitated  a  change  of  climate.    M.  Stoiloff  himself 


206 


2o6  CZAR  FERDINAND 

would  have  granted  permission.  But  the  Parlia- 
mentary Committee  appointed  to  examine  the  charges 
of  seditious  defamation,  repeated  breach  of  the  Con- 
stitution, malversation  of  public  funds,  refused  their 
consent.  Why,  it  is  hard  to  imagine,  unless  it  were 
their  deliberate  intent  to  drive  him  into  his  grave.  It 
is  said  that  the  Prince,  by  granting  fStambouloff 's 
request,  could  have  saved  his  life.  But  it  was  ob- 
jected at  the  time  that  even  the  Prince  could  not, 
without  breaking  the  Constitution,  interfere  in  a  case 
sub  judice.  Another  and  less  conclusive  reason  as- 
signed for  the  Prince's  abstention  was  his  fear  lest 
M.  Stambouloff,  in  the  security  of  a  foreign  residence, 
might  renew  his  personal  attacks  upon  the  Prince. 
But  M.  Stambouloff  could  not  speak  or  write  more 
abusively  in  a  foreign  land  than  he  had  already  done 
at  home.  Were  the  trial  ended,  and  Stambouloff 
condemned  to  death,  then  the  Prince  could,  and 
certainly  would,  commute  the  sentence,  or  use  his 
prerogative  of  pardon.  But  he  had  not  the  oppor- 
tunity. 

One  day  early  in  July  1895  an  article  in  the  M/r, 
an  official,  or  at  any  rate  officious,  paper  declared  that 
it  would  be  a  patriotic  deed  to  tear  M.  Stambouloff 's 
flesh  off  his  bones.  A  day  or  two  later — the  15th — 
M.  Stambouloff,  driving  home  from  his  club  with  his 
friend,  M.  Petkoff ,  was  attacked  by  three  ruffians.  In 
leaping  out  of  their  carriage  M.  Petkoff  fell,  so  that  he 
was  unable  to  give  timely  help  to  M.  Stambouloff, 
who  having  retreated  to  some  distance,  and  thinking 


FERDINAND  ON  STAMBOULOFF     207 

his  friend  was  following  him,  turned  round  to  face 
his  assailants.  Before  he  could  draw  his  revolver  his 
murderers  were  slashing  his  head,  face,  chest,  and 
arms  with  their  knives.  His  hands,  raised  in  self- 
defence,  were  *  sliced  into  ribbons.'  But  the  tale  of 
this  most  hideous  of  assassinations  will  not  bear 
further  repetition.  Within  three  days  Stephan  Stam- 
bouloff,  the  greatest  Bulgarian  of  modern  times  died 
in  delirium.  Prince  Ferdinand,  then  at  Carlsbad, 
telegraphed  a  sympathetic  message  to  Madame 
Stambouloff,  and  gave  instructions  for  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  floral  wreath.  Frantic  with  grief  and  with 
indignation  at  the  Government,  whom  she  believed  to 
be  morally  responsible  for  the  crime,  Madame  Stam- 
bouloff refused  to  accept  either  the  message  or  the 
offering. 

It  is  perfectly  true  that  the  highly  placed  person- 
ages accused  by  Madame  Stambouloff  and  the 
Svohoda  detested  the  fallen  minister.  He  and  they 
had  goaded  each  other  into  implacable  hatred.  His 
death,  in  the  natural  order  of  things,  would  have  left 
them  unmoved.  But  it  did  not  follow  that  they 
desired,  much  less  compassed,  his  assassination. 
They  had  nothing  to  gain  by  it.  All  they  won  by  it 
was  the  loathing  suspicion  of  the  European  press  and 
public.  The  case  against  them  was  one  in  which  a 
Scottish  jury  would  have  given  a  verdict  of  *  Not 
proven.'  Even  if  the  Government  had  been  friendly 
to  M.  Stambouloff,  the  ex-Dictator  had  too  many 
enemies  vowed  to  take  his  life.    From  these  enemies 


2o8  CZAR  FERDINAND 

only  exile,  voluntary  or  compulsory,  would  have 
saved  him ;  and  the  ministers  must  have  been  blind 
indeed  if  they  were  unaware  of  the  fact.  But,  in 
truth,  the  people  of  the  European  East  were,  and  still 
are,  far  less  sensitive  than  the  nations  of  the  West 
to  the  horror  of  crimes  such  as  the  foregoing.  For- 
eigners who,  like  the  present  writer,  were  in  Belgrade 
at  the  time  of  the  assassination  of  King  Alexander  and 
Queen  Draga  must  have  been  as  much  shocked  by 
the  callous  indifference  of  the  population  as  by  the 
actual  murder.  And  yet  in  the  indignities  to  which 
the  poor  Queen  was  subjected  by  her  assailants — 
military  officers,  be  it  remembered — the  Belgrade 
assassination  was  more  savage  and  cowardly  than 
even  the  murder  of  Stambouloff,  perpetrated  not  by 
'  gentlemen '  in  gold  lace,  but  by  ruffians  hired  from 
the  dregs  of  the  populace. 

At  this  stage  of  our  narrative  Prince  Ferdinand's 
opinion  of  Stambouloff  and  his  doctrines  and 
methods,  as  given  in  a  conversation  with  his  bio- 
grapher during  a  holiday  excursion,  may  be  given. 
The  conversation  took  place  after  M.  Stambouloff 's 
resignation  and  before  his  death .^  The  following  is 
an  epitome  of  M.  Hepp's  report  of  it : — 

*  Stambouloff  resigned  of  his  own  free  will.  I  received 
the  notification  thereof  by  telegram,  at  Tsaribiod,  while 
returning  from  my  sister's  funeral  at  Munich.  He  had 
resigned  twice  before,  feeling  confident  that  he  would  be 
reinstated,  with  his  prestige  enhanced.     His  hidden  motives 

1  Hepp,  Ferdinand  de  Bulgarie. 


FERDINAND  ON  STAMBOULOFF     209 

for  his  last  resignation  were  characteristic  of  him.  Difficulties 
in  the  financial  department  had  arisen,  particularly  in  the 
collection  of  taxes.  StamboulojfF  had  resolved  to  employ 
troops  in  levying  them.  But  the  War  Minister,  on  the 
ground  that  tax-collecting  was  not  an  army's  business,  and 
that  an  expedient  of  such  a  character  would  be  an  outrage 
both  upon  the  Government  and  the  nation,  refused  to  give  his 
consent.  Besides,  M.  StamboulofF  divined  my  own  sentiments 
on  the  matter.  So  he  broke  out  into  a  fit  of  violent  temper, 
complained  of  encroachments  on  his  ministerial  authority, 
and  launched  his  telegraphic  message.  As  to  irreconcilable 
opinions  between  him  and  me  .  .  .  there  were  none.  Stam- 
boulofF's  services  to  his  country  are  undeniable,  and  to  myself, 
also,  he  rendered  devoted,  and  sometimes  even  affectionate, 
services.  Despite  all  our  troubles,  he  was  my  co-worker  for 
the  nation's  good.  After  years  of  opportunity  of  estimating 
his  capacities,  I  have  learnt  to  appreciate  his  real  value.  But 
for  me,  his  influence  would  have  lasted  much  less  long  than 
it  did.  As  for  myself,  none  but  reasons  the  most  imperative, 
reasons  superior  to  trivial  motives,  would  have  induced  me 
to  part  with  him.  My  reasons  were  my  loving  devotion  to 
the  people  who  have  made  me  the  guardian  of  their  security, 
liberty,  and  happiness.  With  his  exaggerated  self-esteem, 
it  naturally  happened  that  the  soundness  of  his  estimate  of 
men,  of  public  needs,  of  the  real  tendencies  of  things  became 
gradually  enfeebled.  His  sense  of  the  moderation  which  in 
our  day  is  the  condition  of  lasting  achievement  in  statesman- 
ship grew  enfeebled.  How  many  times  have  I  not  tried  to 
make  him  reflect,  lead  him  to  the  safe  path,  choose  subordin- 
ates less  unscrupulous  and  untrustworthy,  ensure  a  closer 
supervision  over  the  administrative  departments  and  a  more 
prudent  management  of  finance.  I  pointed  out  to  him  the 
dangers  of  all  those  needless  severities,  of  his  system  of 
universal  espionage,  and  of  that  deplorable  mistrust  which  he 


2IO  CZAR  FERDINAND 

propagated  among  a  people  still  too  near  its  past  to  be  im- 
pervious to  such  contamination.  It  was  all  in  vain.  That 
state  of  things  could  not  go  on  for  ever.  I  had  to  act.  The 
general  satisfaction  with  which  his  downfall  was  viewed, 
proved  that  the  step  I  had  taken  was  in  accord  with  the  public 
desire.  I  have  received  more  than  twenty  thousand  telegrams, 
in  which  I  am  described  as  the  country's  second  Liberator  : 
the  1 8th  day  of  May,  my  name-saint's  day,  has  been  celebrated 
as  the  inaugural  day  of  a  new  era.  There  was  a  universal 
clamour  against  the  "detested  tyrant,"  as  he  was  named.  The 
new  order  of  things  would  have  proceeded  smoothly,  I  can 
assure  you,  had  not  StamboulofF,  for  the  sake  of  an  illusory 
popularity,  organised  his  demonstration  of  the  worst  elements 
in  the  community.  I  caused  some  cavalry  to  be  called  out. 
But  I  did  it  under  strict  precautions,  guarding  myself  from 
every  appearance  of  hostility  to  the  Minister  who  but  the 
other  day  was  so  powerful,  and  decided  not  to  look  on,  even 
from  the  palace  window,  at  any  display  of  force  such  as  under 
these  Eastern  skies  might  bear  any  semblance  to  a  pronuncia- 
miento.  Let  me  tell  you  all.  Stambouloff,  coming  to  the 
palace  to  thank  me  for  the  rescript  I  had  sent  him,  was 
howled  at  and  threatened  in  the  streets  ;  it  was  I  who  supplied 
the  armed  guards  who  now  watch  his  house.' 

And  more  to  the  same  effect,  in  which  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand made  mention  of  his  efforts  to  recall  his  minister 
to  *  a  sense  of  constitutional  obligation.*  It  seems  clear 
from  the  foregoing  summary  that  Prince  Ferdinand 
was  not  the  inappreciative  master  which  M.  Stam- 
bouloff's  apologists  have  depicted  him.  Considering 
the  rude  and  sometimes  insulting  treatment  which 
the  Prince  had  to  endure  from  his  minister,  the 
Prince's  judgment  may  fairly  be  described  as,  in  some 


FERDINAND  ON  STAMBOULOFF     211 

respects  at  least,  very  generous.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  Prince  is  reported  to  have  said  that  Stam- 
bouloff  resigned  of  his  own  free  will.  But  it  is  evident 
that  the  Prince  had  made  up  his  mind  to  get  rid  of 
him.  That  M.  Stambouloff  had  reached  a  stage  of 
self-will  at  which  he  would  brook  no  opposition  was 
evident  to  impartial  observers. 

*  We  find  Russian  graves  scattered  all  over  our 
country.  The  men  who  rest  in  them  shed  their  blood 
for  us.  But  where  are  the  Austrian,  English,  Italian, 
German  graves  ?  '  Such  was,  in  the  period  we  have 
been  considering,  the  Bulgarian  peasant's  ordinary 
answer  to  strangers  questioning  him  on  his  devotion 
to  the  Great  White  Czar.  It  shows  how  accurately, 
in  his  Russian  policy.  Prince  Ferdinand  interpreted 
the  popular  mind,  and  how  seriously  Stambouloff, 
man  of  the  people  though  he  was,  misjudged  it.  For 
in  their  devotion  to  the  Czar  the  Bulgarian  people 
never  diverted  their  eyes  from  their  goal  of  complete 
independence.  Take  Stambouloff 's  apology  for  him- 
self, as  implied  in  the  particulars  set  forth  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages,  and  it  will  be  seen  how  it  has  been 
negatived  by  events.  His  forecasts  of  the  fate  of 
Bulgaria  under  Prince  Ferdinand  have  in  every 
instance  been  falsified.  The  army  has  not  been  the 
sole  or  even  the  main  support  of  Prince  Ferdinand's 
rule,  except  in  the  roundabout  sense  that  in  Bulgaria 
army  and  people  are  one  and  the  same — a  sense,  how- 
ever, the  truth  of  which  Stambouloff,  at  certain 
critical  moments  in  his  battle  with  the  Government, 


212  CZAR  FERDINAND 

would  have  denied.  Stambouloff  at  different  times, 
and  according  to  the  momentary  situation,  persuaded 
himself  that  the  Prince's  foreign  policy  would  end  in 
civil  war ;  that  panslavism  would  swamp  the  country ; 
that  it  was  unlikely  that  the  European  Powers  and 
Turkey  would  *  recognise  *  Prince  Ferdinand  even  if 
Russia  should  yield  ;  that  the  Prince's  rule  would  not 
last. 

As  regards  Russia,  Prince  Ferdinand  made  some 
noteworthy  statements  in  the  conversation  already 
named.  He  admitted  that  the  reign  of  Alexander  iii. 
lacked  the  generous  spirit  of  Alexander  the  Second's. 
But  he  would  wait  for  the  inevitable  change.  Every 
one  should  know  that  Bulgaria  was  not  a  country  for 
men  of  Kaulbars'  stamp  to  play  fast  and  loose  with. 
The  Kaulbars  to  whom  the  Prince  alluded  was  the 
Russian  agent  who  in  Alexander's  time  went  about 
the  country  boasting  that  he  and  not  the  Batten- 
berger,  nor  the  National  Parliament,  was  ruler  of  the 
land.i 

*  Quant  a  la  Russie,  comment  serait-il  possible  de  negliger, 
malgre  tout,  les  regards  qu'on  lui  doit?  Comment,  si  elle 
semble  peut-etre  s'eloigner  de  I'esprit  des  institutions  d' Ale- 
xandre II.,  les  pourrions-nous  meconnaitre,  nous  qui  avons 
dresse  au  Tsar  un  monument  a  Sofia.  Nous  nous  efForcerons 
dc  vivre  en  termes  respectueux  vis-a-vis  de  la  Russie,  mais 
n*avons-nous  pas  Ic  droit  de  rester  libres,  en  dehors  de 
conditions  et  d'immixtions  ?  La  Bulgarie  n'est  pas  un  pays 
ou  les  Kaulbars  reussissent ;  on  se  trompe  sur  la  qualite  du 

^  Hcpp's  Ferdinand  de  Bulgarie, 


FERDINAND  ON  STAMBOULOFF     213 

patriotisme  dc  ce  paysan  epris  de  son  sol  et  de  sa  jeune 
independance  :  la  Bulgarie  aux  Bulgares.  Avec  le  sens  de  ce 
qui  est  juste  et  du,  ce  sera  toujours  la  ma  politique.  Le 
temps  fera  le  reste.* 

In  his  conversations  with  his  biographer,  Prince 
Ferdinand  spoke  hopefully  of  the  future  relations 
between  Bulgaria  and  a  reformed  Turkey.  The  Prince 
always  has  been  an  optimist.  Even  in  his  melancholy 
moods — and  he  has  had  many  such — he  never  swerved 
from  his  conviction  that  his  *  Second  Fatherland '  was 
destined  to  fulfil  a  great,  pacific,  and  beneficent  role 
in  international  polity.  *  My  people,'  he  continued, 
ever  a  lover  of  peace, 

*  is  eager  for  progress.  Nothing  must  be  suffered  to  arrest 
her  path  towards  prosperity.  Such  is  our  nation's  desire  and 
resolution.  May  they  be  fulfilled.  The  Bulgarian  people 
and  its  Chief  are  inspired  by  one  and  the  same  sentiment. 
Independent  in  fact,  my  country  comes  into  collision,  in  the 
course  of  its  normal,  peaceful  development,  with  certain 
regulations  the  formal  abrogation  of  which  would  put  an  end 
to  the  strained  relations  between  us  and  Turkey.  The  re- 
generation of  Turkey  is  a  source  of  heartfelt  rejoicing  to 
my  people  and  myself.  Independent  of  each  other,  Turkey 
and  Bulgaria  would  be  in  a  position  to  create  between  them- 
selves enduring  ties  of  friendship,  and  to  devote  themselves 
to  their  individual  tasks  of  amelioration.' 

The  Prince  wound  up  his  discourse  with  a  declara- 
tion of  his  belief  that  he  had  now  laid  the  foundations 
of  a  great  future  for  Bulgaria.  He  had  done  it,  he 
said,  by  striving  to  abolish  the  unimprovable,  by 
making  the  best  of  indiflFerent  material,  while  often 


214  CZAR  FERDINAND 

misunderstood,  or  thwarted  by  those  who  could  have 
assisted  him.  Henceforth,  said  he,  *  my  active  powers 
shall  have  freer  and  wider  scope  .  .  .  disillusion  shall 
not  be  Bulgaria's  reward  for  what  she  has  conferred 
upon  me.* 

Until  the  eve  of  the  war.  Prince  Ferdinand  shared 
the  fair  expectations  of  the  Young  Turk  revolution 
that  had  been  formed  by  a  too  confiding  Europe.  It 
may  seem  surprising  that  a  man  of  Prince  Ferdinand's 
perspicacity  should  have  failed  to  perceive  that  the 
*  Young  '  Turk  of  the  revolution  was  simply  the  old 
Turk,  the  incurable  Turk — ^but  with  a  veneer  of 
French  polish — fighting  his  last  fight  with  civilisation. 
Foreign  observers  who  knew  the  East,  and  that  not 
more  intimately  perhaps  than  the  Prince  himself  did, 
saw  through  the  imposture  in  the  first  weeks  of  its 
disastrous  course.  One  need  not  suppose  that  Prince 
Ferdinand's  sanguine  hopes  of  a  reformed  Turkey 
were  merely  a  diplomatic  affectation.  The  enthusi- 
astic welcome  accorded  to  the  Young  Turk  delegates 
ever)rwhere  on  their  way  from  the  frontier  to  Sofia, 
with  its  emblematic  groupings  of  Turkish  and  Bul- 
garian flags,  proved  that  the  Bulgarians  anticipated  a 
Turkish  reformation  comparable  with  that  of  Japan 
little  more  than  a  generation  earlier.  A  Bulgarian,  or 
rather  a  South  Slavic,  alliance  with  a  reformed,  pro- 
gressive Turkey  had  for  a  long  time  fascinated  Prince 
Ferdinand's  imagination.  As  a  diplomatist  Prince, 
or  Czar,  Ferdinand  is  of  the  Bismarckian  order.  He 
has  always  despised  the  superstitious  notion  that  lying 


FERDINAND  ON  STAMBOULOFF     215 

is  essential  to  diplomacy.  He  either  holds  his  peace 
or  says  what  he  thinks.  It  may  be  useful  to  have 
recalled  Czar  Ferdinand's  pacific  disposition  three  or 
four  years  back,  now  that  the  troublesome  question 
of  apportioning  the  Turk's  possessions  is  likely  to 
occupy  the  Powers  and  the  Allies  for  a  considerable 
time. 


XXVII 

THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  INFANT  PRINCE 

We  have  seen  with  what  buoyant  hopes  of  his  *  Second 
Fatherland's  '  future,  and  confidence  in  his  own  apti- 
tude for  the  metier  of  a  ruler  who  would  not  only 
reign  but  govern,  Prince  Ferdinand  inaugurated  the 
second  epoch  of  his  career.  With  what  success,  in 
his  subjects'  estimation,  was  he  fulfilling  his  mis- 
sion ?  A  typical  judgment  on  this  point  was  given  by 
M.  Petkoff  himself  to  European  travellers  whom  a 
curious  interest  in  the  story  of  the  young  state  had 
attracted  to  the  capital.  Petkoff,  Stambouloff's  faith- 
ful associate,  could  not  be  suspected  of  undue  parti- 
ality to  Prince  Ferdinand.  His  official  position  and 
vast  experience  lent  special  weight  to  his  opinion. 
Said  M.  Petkoff,  two  years  after  His  Highness  had 
definitely  taken  his  personal  and  laborious  part  in  the 
supervision  or  direction  of  the  various  ministries,  the 
Prince 

*  is  a  man  of  great  intelligence.  He  is  well  informed.  He  is 
a  man  of  strong  character.  It  is  under  his  personal  influence 
that  we  have  produced  a  new  Bulgaria.  He  is  constantly 
travelling  about  the  country.  He  knows  every  one  in  it  who 
is  worth  knowing.  The  country-people  love  him.  The 
Bulgarians  know  that  he  labours  for  the  nation's  future.  The 
army  places  absolute  confidence  in  him.  It  is  through  Prince 
Ferdinand  that  we  have  gained  our  prestige  among  the  nations. 

216 


M.    STAMBULOFF 


CONVERSION  OF  INFANT  PRINCE    217 

He  is  a  good  European.  He  is  destined  to  achieve  great 
things.' 

Among  the  steps  which,  before  M.  PetkofF  de- 
livered this  judgment,  Prince  Ferdinand  had  taken 
to  conquer  this  prestige  was  his  personal  encourage- 
ment to  the  despatch  of  a  deputation  to  St.  Petersburg, 
led  by  the  ex-metropolitan,  Clement,  and  representing 
an  important  body  concerned  in  social  questions  of  a 
philanthropic  character.  The  Slavic  idea,  not,  how- 
ever, in  its  extreme  form,  had  its  apostles  in  the 
society.  It  left  for  St.  Petersburg  some  weeks  after 
the  termination  of  the  first  Slavic  Congress  at  Sofia, 
already  mentioned.  It  received  a  most  enthusiastic 
reception  in  the  Russian  capital,  where  it  fraternised 
with  the  Panslavic  *  Benevolent  Society,'  a  vast 
organisation,  and  powerful  politically  as  well  as  in 
other  respects.  The  deputation  achieved  a  striking 
success.  The  Slavic  *  Idea '  in  the  ordinary  Bulgarian 
mind  may  be  said  to  bear  a  remote  comparison  with 
the  Canadian  idea  of  Our  *  Lady  of  the  Snows  '  being 

*  mistress  in  her  own  house.*  For,  though  Bulgaria 
is  not  the  *  daughter  state  '  of  any  Power,  her  people 
and  the  Russian  Czar's  are  near  relations.  The  fate 
of  any  one  branch  of  this  Slav  family  of  mankind 
never  can  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the  others. 
Bulgaria,  says  her  frankly  speaking  king,  is  Russia's 

*  sister.'  A  tiny  sister,  scarcely  eight  years  of  age, 
when  Prince  Ferdinand  became  her  guardian. 

The  mission,  which  announced  itself  in  the  name 
of  the  Prince,  the  ministers,  and  the  nation,  appeared 


2i8  CZAR  FERDINAND 

to  have  dissipated  the  last  remnants  of  misunderstand- 
ing between  the  Empire  and  the  PrincipaHty.  It 
received  a  flattering  welcome  from  the  new  Czar, 
Nicolas  II.  The  mission's  home-coming  was  hon- 
oured with  a  popular  ovation.  The  Sofiotes  escorted 
the  bishop  with  cheers  along  the  streets,  as  if  he  were 
a  victorious  general  returned  from  the  wars.  Prince 
Ferdinand  also  warmly  congratulated  Bishop  Clement 
on  the  results  of  his  journey.  His  treatment  of  the 
bishop  was  characteristic.  In  other  days,  as  we  have 
already  recorded,  he  had  experienced  the  bishop's 
hostility.  But  Czar  Ferdinand  knows  no  personal 
rancours.  Sterile  enmities  are  foreign  to  his  tempera- 
ment. All  men  are  his  friends  who  serve  well  their 
fatherland. 

The  Prince's  next  step  towards  the  reconciliation 
which  he  deemed  essential  to  his  country's  interests 
was  the  decisive  one.  It  has  already  been  recorded 
that,  according  to  the  constitutional  law,  the  heir- 
apparent  must  be  a  member  of  the  Orthodox  Church, 
but  that  M.  Stambouloff,  for  reasons  of  state,  altered 
the  law,  so  that  the  heir  should  be  baptized  in  the 
Catholic  Church.  But  the  Bulgarian  people,  in  their 
silent  way,  resented  the  change ;  so  did  Orthodox 
Russia.  For  these  reasons  Prince  Ferdinand  resolved 
that  Article  38  of  the  Constitution  should  be  restored, 
and  little  Prince  Boris  be  rebaptized.  He  wrote  to 
Czar  Nicolas,  announcing  his  resolution.  The  Bul- 
garian Parliament  had  more  than  once,  in  an  indirect 
way,  advised  the  Prince  to  repair  what  it  regarded  as 


CONVERSION  OF  INFANT  PRINCE    219 

a  serious  error  from  the  dynastic  point  of  view.  Czar 
Nicolas  was  delighted  with  Prince  Ferdinand's  deci- 
sion. The  Bulgarian  people  celebrated  in  every  town 
and  hamlet  the  Prince's  proclamation  that  the  Czar 
had  consented  to  become  godfather  to  *  our  beloved 
son,  heir  to  the  Bulgarian  throne,'  and  had  *  mani- 
fested his  goodwill  to  our  nation  by  renewing  with  it 
the  political  relations  that  had  been  interrupted.'  The 
style  of  the  Prince's  proclamation  might  have  made 
Stambouloff  turn  in  his  grave.  *  Truckling,'  he  often 
said  while  in  the  land  of  the  living ;  and  again,  *  this 
base  truckling,'  '  this  grovelling  in  the  dust '  ;  'for 
the  Czar's  condescension  the  Prince  will  submit  to 
any  humiliation.'  The  autocratic  minister  would  not 
have  *  cared  a  sou  '  (to  use  his  own  phrase)  for  those 
'  sentiments  which,'  in  the  language  of  the  procla- 
mation, *  His  Imperial  Majesty  has  in  so  marked  a 
manner  manifested  to  the  Bulgarian  nation,  and  which 
we  prize  so  highly.' 

Looked  at  as  a  clever  move  in  the  diplomatic  game, 
the  infant  Prince's  conversion  at  this  particular  time 
was  far  more  effective  for  the  Prince's  conciliatory 
purpose  than  an  Orthodox  baptism  at  birth  would 
have  been.  The  early  rite  would  have  been  univer- 
sally regarded  as  a  matter  of  course.  It  would  have 
made  no  impression  on  the  obdurate  Czar  Alex- 
ander III.  But  the  lost  sheep's  return  to  the  fold — 
the  lost  lamb's — was  an  impressive  event.  In  this 
world,  as  in  the  other,  the  repentant  sinner  excites 
more  joy  than  he  does  who  has  not  gone  astray. 


220  CZAR  FERDINAND 

The  26th  of  February  was  the  day  appointed  for 
the  Orthodox  rite.  The  place  was  historic  Tirnovo. 
The  selection  of  the  old  capital  was  another  manifes- 
tation of  the  Prince's  talent  for  mastership  of  the 
ceremonies.  The  scene  was  almost  as  imposing  as 
Prince  Ferdinand's  advent  there  nine  years  before  to 
inaugurate  the  rebuilding  of  the  Bulgarian  state. 
Great  companies  of  country-people,  singing  their  old 
national  songs,  displaying  banners  with  patriotic 
mottoes,  filled  the  roads  converging  on  the  city.  The 
house  fronts  of  Tirnovo  were  decorated  with  trophies 
of  Russian  and  Bulgarian  flags  combined.  The 
streets  resounded  with  the  Russian  and  Bulgarian 
national  hymns.  It  was  a  Russian  festival  as 
much  as  a  national  one.  The  Imperial  godfather 
himself  was  not,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  present ; 
but  his  representative  was  received  with  sovereign 
honours. 

The  illustrious  convert  himself,  though  advancing 
in  years — he  was  tottering  on  the  verge  of  three — 
showed  scarcely  any  interest  in  the  solemn  ritual. 
After  the  first  few  moments  his  curiosity  vanished. 
Theological  subtleties  had  no  attractions  for  him. 
Not  did  he  seem  to  find  much  satisfaction  in  the 
contemplation  of  his  richly  decorated,  emblematic 
uniform.  Rather  did  the  hero  of  the  occasion  betray 
symptoms  of  impatience — all  the  more  alarming 
because  bonbons  and  toys  would  have  been  out  of 
place.  At  last  he  cried  out  lustily.  But  he  emerged 
from  the  ordeal  an  Orthodox  Christian,  and  the  first 


CONVERSION  OF  INFANT  PRINCE    221 

native  prince  of  Bulgaria,  purple  born,  since  the  days 
of  Schishman,  the  last  Bulgarian  czar. 

A  Russian  prince,  related  to  the  Imperial  family, 
is  said  to  have  described  the  Tirnovo  ceremonial  as 
*  a  blasphemous  mockery,  and  exhibition  of  political 
legerdemain.'  Its  *  blasphemous  '  character  was  a 
matter  of  personal  opinion.  How  many  were  there 
among  those  ministers,  deputies,  courtiers  who  be- 
lieved that  the  eternal  welfare  of  the  baby  Prince  of 
Tirnovo,  or  of  those  who  acted  vicariously  for  him, 
was  affected  by  a  ritualistic  variation?  It  was  a 
Christian  of  the  Orthodox  Church — M.  Stambouloff 
himself — who,  as  already  recorded,  by  his  alteration 
of  an  article  in  the  Constitution  legalised  the  infant's 
baptism  in  the  Roman  rite.  Did  M.  Stambouloff,  did 
Prince  Ferdinand  (good  Catholic  though  he  was), 
believe  that  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  religion  the 
ritualistic  difference  was  worth  two  straws  one  way  or 
the  other  ?  To  M.  Stambouloff  the  alteration  was 
purely  one  of  political  utility.  If  Paris  was  *  worth  a 
Mass '  to  Henry  of  Navarre,  a  new  Bulgarian  dynasty 
was  worth  a  sprinkling  of  water  to  Henry's  descend- 
ant. But  Princess  Marie  Louise  became  the  Prince's 
wife  on  the  express  condition  that  her  first  son  should 
be  baptized  in  the  Roman  Church.  The  feelings  of 
those  to  whom  the  distinction  was  one  of  vital  import 
deserved  respect.  And  the  severest  of  know- 
nothings  might  have  profoundly  sympathised  with 
the  mother — a  Romanist  devotee — in  her  grief  over 
the  violation  of  a  sacred  contract. 


222  CZAR  FERDINAND 

But  with  the  domestic  sorrows  to  which  the  re- 
baptism  gave  rise,  and  the  revelation  of  which  tickled 
the  long  ear  of  an  idle  public,  we  have  here  nothing  to 
do.  What  we  have  to  bear  in  mind  is  that  a  ritualistic 
performance,  however  *  hypocritical,'  'superstitious,' 
*  odious,'  '  contemptible '  to  the  emancipated  who 
qualified  it  in  these  terms,  did  affect  in  a  real  manner 
Bulgaria's  destiny.  One  must  deal  with  historical 
data  as  impartially  as  a  physicist  with  his  quantities. 

From  that  ceremony  in  Tirnovo  Cathedral  there 
have  come,  in  direct  line  of  inheritance,  those  wild 
acclamations  in  Holy  Russia,  those  embracings  be- 
tween Russians  and  Bulgars  in  the  streets  of  Moscow 
and  St.  Petersburg,  that  triumphal  hoisting  shoulder- 
high  of  the  Bulgarian  envoy.  Dr.  Daneff,  by  the 
crowds  on  the  Neva,  with  which,  according  to  the 
newspaper  correspondents,  the  capture  of  Adrianople 
has  been  celebrated.^  To  the  hundred  and  seventy 
millions  of  Slavic  folk  in  Russia  and  the  Balkans — to 
say  nothing  of  the  Slavs  who  constitute  the  majority 
of  Francis  Joseph's  subjects,  and  whose  heart-strings 
have  vibrated  to  the  sounds  of  victory  in  Macedonia 
and  Thrace — little  Boris's  rebaptism  was  a  new 
symbol  of  their  ethnic  unity.  That  was  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand's wider  view  of  the  event ;  Orthodox  baby  Boris 
was  made  one  with  his  future  subjects  that  these,  in 
their  turn,  should  reaffirm  their  kinship  with  the 
Slavic  stock.    As  we  have  already  had  occasion  to 

*  Adrianople  was  taken  by  storm  in  the  morning  of  the  26th  March 
1913. 


CONVERSION  OF  INFANT  PRINCE    223 

point  out,  the  religious  question  in  the  European  East 
is  a  poHtical  question,  to  an  extent  difficult  to  appreci- 
ate in  Western  Europe.  For  that  reason  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand was  for  years  the  object  of  a  religious  suspicion, 
industriously  fostered  by  the  enemies  of  the  new 
regime.  Mediaeval  Bulgaria  had  for  a  time  chosen  for 
her  spiritual  head  the  Roman  Pontiff  instead  of  his 
rival,  the  Byzantine  Patriarch.  The  great  Czar  Boris, 
after  whom  the  infant  of  Tirnovo  was  named,  hesi- 
tated between  the  two.  With  him  and  some  of  his 
successors  it  was  merely  an  affair  of  business  bargain- 
ing. In  the  opinion  of  certain  historians  it  was  a 
misfortune  for  Bulgaria  that  the  czars  finally  threw  in 
their  lot  with  the  Eastern  Church,  thereby  severing 
themselves  from  intellectual  and  moral  association 
with  Central  and  Western  Europe.  So  the  Bulgarian 
reactionaries  and  their  panslavic  friends  in  Russia 
attributed  to  the  Catholic  Prince  Ferdinand  a  design 
to  entice  the  nation  from  the  Orthodox  fold.  This 
was  hard  upon  Prince  Ferdinand,  who  had  personally 
done  so  much  to  reinstate  the  Bulgarian  Ecclesiastical 
Synod,  which  had  practically  disappeared  during  the 
early  and  troubled  years  of  his  government,  and  to 
mitigate  its  internal  discord.  The  Prince's  govern- 
ment had  also  done  the  Macedonian  Bulgarians  great 
service  by  inducing  the  Porte  to  grant  them  an 
increase  of  two  episcopal  sees.  '  These  are  not  the 
acts  of  a  Catholic  propagandist,*  said  the  Prince.  The 
Tirnovo  baptism  gave  the  finishing  stroke  to  an  un- 
founded but  mischievous  slander.     In  the  fulness  of 


224  CZAR  FERDINAND 

their  joy  the  national  deputies,  in  Parliament  assem- 
bled, voted  a  grant  of  half  a  million  francs  to  their 
baby  convert — for  a  frugal  people  a  prodigal  gift. 

Russia  and  Bulgaria  having  been  reconciled,  the 
congratulations  of  the  European  Powers  came  in  with 
a  rush.  The  Sultan,  no  longer  terrorised  by  Russia, 
issued  his  firmaiiy  formally  recognising  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand as  Prince  of  Bulgaria,  with  the  title  of  Royal 
Highness,  and  as  Governor- General  of  Eastern 
Roumelia.  In  the  latter  character,  the  future  Ferdi- 
nandus  Macedonicus  and  conqueror  of  Thrace  was 
simply  a  Turkish  Vali,  a  mixed  sort  of  pasha,  bound 
to  sport  his  Turkish  fez  should  he  ever  visit  his 
sovereign  lord.  Prince  Ferdinand  promptly  acknow- 
ledged Sultan  Abdul  Hamid's  graciousness  by  a  visit 
to  Yildiz.  He  always  does  *  the  correct  thing.'  In 
Constantinople  he  aroused  the  liveliest  curiosity. 
Crowds  of  people  followed  him  to  the  Imperial  palace. 
He  journeyed  to  St.  Petersburg ;  then  to  Paris, 
where  his  reception  was  most  flattering.  It  might 
have  turned  a  head  less  cool  than  Prince  Ferdinand's. 
The  Parisians  made  so  much  of  him,  partly,  of  course, 
because  he  was  half  a  Frenchman  by  birth  and  more 
than  half  by  his  culture,  and  partly  because  of  his 
dexterity  and  tenacity.  At  the  ifelysee  the  successor 
of  the  French  kings  and  emperors  royally  entertained 
the  Orleanist  Prince  who  was  so  successfully  intro- 
ducing French  culture  and  manners  into  a  semi- 
Oriental  land;  or  almost  royally,  for  the  Prince 
was  as  yet  only  half  a  king.    And  as  in  the  democratic 


CONVERSION  OF  INFANT  PRINCE    225 

Elysee  the  protocol  is  about  as  rigidly  sacrosanct  as 
it  once  was  in  pre-republican  Pekin,  semi-royal 
honours  only  could  be  accorded  to  the  Prince  of 
Bulgaria  :  half  a  gala  at  the  Opera,  half  a  military 
manoeuvre,  and  so  on.  Luckily,  there  's  no  mention 
of  half  a  dinner  in  the  protocol,  and  His  Royal  High- 
ness was  entertained  with  all  the  splendid,  exquisite 
hospitality  for  which  the  Elysee  is  renowned.  The 
time  would  soon  come  when  that  wonderful  protocol 
would  entitle  him  to  the  full  honours  of  a  military 
review  and  an  undipped  ballet. 

The  return  of  Bulgarian  exiles  from  Russia  in  1897 
was  another  step  in  Prince  Ferdinand's  policy  of 
*  apaisement.'  His  great  resource  in  internal  admini- 
stration was  to  get  the  leaders  of  rival  parties  to 
combine  to  do  something  useful :  he  could  not 
endure  sterile  strife.  As  for  foreign  affairs,  he  made 
them  at  this  period  of  his  career  his  special,  personal 
charge.  And  much  of  his  '  F.  O.'  work  was  done 
through  the  medium  of  travelling.  In  1900,  at 
Prince  Ferdinand's  request,  there  took  place  an 
inspection  of  the  Bulgarian  army  by  a  body  of 
distinguished  officers  specially  appointed  by  Czar 
Nicolas.  Their  report  gave  deep  gratification  to  the 
Prince,  who  had  laboured  incessantly  at  his  task  of 
military  reform.  The  Russian  officers  were  aston- 
ished at  the  high  degree  of  perfection  in  training, 
discipline,  and  equipment  to  which  the  Bulgarian 
army,  with  financial  means  necessarily  limited,  had 
attained  in  twenty  years,  but  especially  since  Prince 


226  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Ferdinand's  advent.  Men  exactly  of  the  type  of  the 
rustic  volunteers  who  had  fraternised  with  the 
Russians  in  the  Shipka  Pass  and  at  Plevna  were 
now  among  the  *  smartest '  troops  in  Europe.  The 
Russian  generals  who  had  predicted  great  things  of 
those  uncouth  warriors  of  1877-8  were  not  mistaken. 
The  Russian  verdict,  endorsed  in  complimentary 
style  by  Czar  Nicolas,  made  a  deep  impression  on 
the  Bulgarian  people,  then  becoming  wide  awake  to 
the  certainty  of  coming  troubles  in  Macedonia,  and 
of  their  own  inevitable  intervention  in  them.  It  is 
to  this  period  that  we  must  ascribe  the  definite 
emergence  of  the  military  spirit — quite  a  different 
thing  from  a  pugnacious  spirit — among  this  pacific, 
laborious,  fundamentally  brave  race.  After  two 
years  a  pathetic  ceremony  at  the  foot  of  the  Shipka 
Pass  still  further  stimulated  this  rising  spirit  by  its 
appeal  to  the  historic  imagination.  It  was  the  in- 
auguration of  the  church  dedicated  to  the  memory 
of  those  who  had  fallen  there  in  the  *  War  of  Freedom.' 
The  Grand  Duke  Nicolas  was  present  as  the 
Emperor's  representative.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Count  Ignatieff,  who  thirty  years  earlier,  when 
residing  at  Constantinople,  had  so  successfully  advo- 
cated the  Bulgarians'  claim  to  an  exarchate  of  their 
own.  Among  the  distinguished  Russian  visitors  was 
M.  Bakhmetieff,  whose  wife  a  year  later  organised 
a  system  of  relief  for  the  thousands  of  Mace- 
donians, chiefly  women  and  children,  who  were 
escaping  into  Bulgaria  from  their  Turkish  persecutors. 


CONVERSION  OF  INFANT  PRINCE    227 

Accompanying  Prince  Ferdinand  were  the  members 
of  his  court,  his  ministers,  and  commanding  officers. 
The  scene  of  every  episode  in  the  desperate  fighting 
of  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  was  identified.  The 
venerable  Count  Ignatieff ,  with  several  of  his  country- 
men, then  paid  a  visit  to  Sofia,  whose  inhabitants 
turned  out  en  masse  to  welcome  him.  The  Shipka 
Pass  celebration  was  the  right  thing,  done  at  the 
right  moment. 

During  these  years  Prince  Ferdinand  was  pro- 
moting his  country's  interests  and  strengthening 
her  position  in  Europe  in  many  ways  of  a  more 
prosaic  order.  He  took  an  active  interest  in  the 
establishment  of  commercial  and  postal  conventions 
with  foreign  countries.  He  was  a  shrewd  counsellor 
in  the  matter  of  public  loans ;  and  impecunious 
Bulgaria  must  needs  borrow,  in  order  to  develop  her 
vast  natural  resources.  His  constant  aim  was  to 
keep  Bulgaria  in  full  view  of  the  European  eye — to 
advertise  her,  as  we  have  elsewhere  said.  And  so 
at  Hague  conversations  she  figured  side  by  side  with 
her  own  suzerain,  as  if  she  were  an  independent 
Power,  no  longer  his '  vassal.*  This  singular  *  vassal ' 
even  made  treaties  with  her  overlord.  She  was  a 
unique  illustration  of  the  comic  in  a  legal  fiction. 
As  a  pushing  man  of  business.  Prince  Ferdinand 
might  be  compared  with  Cavour  :  he  made  his  sturdy 
little  state  the  Piedmont  of  the  Balkans.  During 
his  triumphant  visit  to  Paris  his  national  flag  floated 
over  his  residence,  the  Foreign  Office,  at  the  Quai 


228  CZAR  FERDINAND 

d'Orsay,  just  as  if  he  were  an  independent  sovereign. 
He  conquered  Europe  by  a  *  correct '  attitude  to 
protocolean  shams  and  imperturbable  reHance  on 
the  logic  of  things.  President  Petkoff's  estimate  of 
Prince  Ferdinand,  already  quoted,  was  in  every  way 
justified.  And  now  we  may  cite  a  passage  from  the 
speech  of  M.  Stancioff,  the  Bulgarian  Foreign 
Minister,  to  the  Legislative  Assembly,  before  the 
end  of  the  period  under  consideration  : — 

'  Honours  generally  reserved  for  independent  Sovereigns 
are  now  rendered  to  the  Prince  of  Bulgaria.  The  Great 
Powers  are  represented  here  by  their  Ministers  Plenipotentiary. 
While  our  army  is  esteemed  abroad,  its  Commander-in-Chief 
(the  Prince)  holds  honorary  rank  in  the  armies  of  foreign 
states.  In  its  efforts  to  promote  the  development  of  external 
policy,  our  Government  keeps  careful  watch  over  the  course 
of  events  within  and  beyond  our  borders.  It  seizes  every 
favourable  occasion  to  profit  by  the  experience  of  nations 
more  advanced  than  ours.  It  is  faithful  to  its  international 
engagements,  and  is  desirous  of  developing  intercourse  with 
other  peoples.  It  is  devoted  to  the  duty — the  importance 
of  which  all  recognise — of  safeguarding  the  peace  of  the 
Balkan  Peninsula.' 

To  secure  the  peace  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  by 
means  of  a  Balkan  Alliance  had  long  been  Prince 
Ferdinand's  cherished  ambition.  In  1899  ^-  StoilofF, 
between  whom  and  the  Prince  there  always  had  been 
an  identity  of  view  on  this  subject,  approached  the 
Servian  Government  with  proposals  for  consolidating 
the  commercial  and  political  interests  of  the  two 
countries.    Dr.  Daneff  continued  these  negotiations. 


CONVERSION  OF  INFANT  PRINCE    229 

They  foreshadowed  the  Confederation  of  1 912-13. 
*  Stamboulovist '  ministries,  as  they  were  called,  took 
office  after  the  Dictator's  disappearance.  But  a  minis- 
terial label,  the  personal  composition  of  a  cabinet, 
affected  in  no  way  the  course  of  Bulgarian  policy. 
Under  Prince  Ferdinand  the  Conciliator  the  time  of 
anarchic  strife  passed  away. 


XXVIII 

THE  CZAR  AND  HIS  FAMILY 

Foreign  visitors  who  had  known  Bulgaria  during  the 
Turkish  and  Alexander-Stambouloff  periods  now 
detected  a  subtle  change  in  its  social  atmosphere. 
Particularly  in  the  towns,  and  most  of  all  in  the  capital, 
one  became  conscious  of  a  new  expansion  of  the 
popular  spirit.  Of  the  sombre,  brooding  Sofiote 
aspect  of  a  few  years  earlier  scarcely  a  trace  remained. 
A  new  feeling  of  civic  camaraderie  had  been  evoked. 
One  perceived  how  the  range  of  intellectual  and 
aesthetic  interests  was  widening.  Signs  of  change, 
such  as  the  adoption  of  Western  fashions  in  women's 
attire,  and  the  demand  for  light,  illustrated  books 
and  periodicals  of  foreign  origin,  especially  French, 
were  more  significant  than  they  would  be  in  lands 
more  *  advanced.'  Clearly  the  Bulgars  were  breath- 
ing a  freer  and  larger  air  of  the  Spirit.  It  was  as  if 
they  had  emerged  from  prison  for  holiday  in  their 
sun-steeped  fields  and  in  the  *  Greenwood '  of  their 
rustic  poets.  And  if  one  talked  with  the  Sofiotes 
about  this  altered  outlook  of  the  popular  mind,  one 
would  be  told  that  it  must  be  attributed  to  *  the 
palace,'  hard  by.  And  yet,  if  one  asked  whether  the 
Prince  was  popular,  the  reply  would  be  somewhat 
ambiguous.  The  present  writer  often  received  for 
answer,  '  What  do  you  mean  by  popular  ?  '    If  by 

230 


THE  CZAR  AND  HIS  FAMILY        231 

popularity  one  meant  a  personal  affection,  Prince 
Ferdinand  was  not  popular  in  that  sense.  He  never 
evoked,  probably  never  will  evoke,  the  personal  affec- 
tion which  the  Bulgarians  felt  for  their  unstable, 
impulsive,  warm-hearted,  ebullient,  futile  Prince 
Alexander.  But  if  by  popularity  one  meant  confi- 
dence in  Prince  Ferdinand  as  guardian  and  director  of 
the  state,  then  there  could  be  no  denying  his  universal 
popularity.  Hundreds  of  times  have  I  heard  Nation- 
alists of  the  most  stalwart,  jealous  sort  declare  un- 
hesitatingly that  the  Prince  was  the  maker  of  a  new 
Bulgaria.  He  knew  the  state  machine  to  its  minutest 
detail,  the  inquirer  would  be  assured.  In  the  words 
of  a  French  author,  the  Prince  was  the  '  master 
mechanician.'  M.  de  Launay  in  his  excellent  book^ 
remarks  that,  if  the  Prince  is  not  popular  in  the  ordi- 
nary sense  of  the  word,  his  subjects  *  appreciate  '  his 
value  as  *  president  of  a  crowned  republic'  This 
cautious,  unimpassioned,  judicial  estimate  of  their 
ruler  by  the  Bulgarian  people  is  characteristic  of  the 
race.  It  is  perhaps  the  sort  of  appreciation  which 
a  ruler  of  his  temperament  would  prize  the  most. 
*  Prestige  '  might  be  substituted  for  *  popularity.' 

But  it  is  not  the  only  appreciation  which  the  nation 
formed  of  *  the  palace.'  Princess  Marie  Louise, 
Prince  Ferdinand's  first  wife,  was  almost  literally 
worshipped  by  the  people.  In  the  expansion  of  the 
popular  spirit  which  we  have  been  considering,  the 
influence  which  she  exerted  during  the  six  short  years 

^  La  Bulgarie,  1907. 


232  CZAR  FERDINAND 

that  elapsed  between  her  marriage  and  her  death  was 
in  many  respects  even  more  potent  than  her  husband's. 
The  Bulgarians  were  indeed  fortunate  in  their  first 
Princess.  And  the  same  must  be  said  of  the  lady 
who,  eight  years  after  the  death  of  Princess  Marie 
Louise,  married  Prince  Ferdinand,  and  who  in  the 
war  of  1 91 2- 1 3  has  without  intermission  devoted 
her  days  and  nights  to  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the 
wounded.  A  new  type  of  Bulgarian  society,  it  is 
often  said,  is  in  course  of  evolution.  The  first  Prin- 
cess and  the  first  Czarina  of  modern  Bulgaria  have  in 
a  memorable  manner  and  degree  contributed  to  this 
result. 

When  married  to  Prince  Ferdinand  at  Pianore,  in 
the  province  of  Lucca,  Princess  Marie  Louise  of 
Parma  was  twenty-three  years  of  age — some  ten  years 
younger  than  the  Prince.  She  was  slenderly  built, 
under  middle  height,  with  chestnut-brown  hair,  large, 
radiant  blue  eyes,  and  pale  complexion.  In  her  atti- 
tude and  movement  graceful  and  dignified,  she  was  in 
manner  simple,  gracious,  and  unaffected.  Like  the 
Prince  himself,  she  was  partly  of  French  extraction. 
She  had  the  reputation  of  being  as  witty  as  her  great- 
grandmother,  the  Duchess  of  Berri,  the  cleverest 
woman  of  the  French  royal  house,  as  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme,  according  to  Henri  Heine,  was  the  *  best 
man  '  in  it. 

Like  Prince  Ferdinand,  she  was  an  assiduous 
reader,  a  lover  of  music  and  the  arts,  a  nature-wor- 
shipper;  and  also,  her  adoring  Bulgar  folk  would  say. 


THE  CZAR  AND  HIS  FAMILY        233 

as  approachable  and  fascinatingly  free  in  her  talk  as 
the  Prince  often  was  the  reverse.  The  Prince  and 
the  Princess  had  another  taste  in  common :  they  loved 
travel,  and  the  Princess,  being  an  expert  with  brush 
and  pencil,  filled  many  a  portfolio  with  sketches  and 
water-colours  of  numberless  places  between  the 
Western  Pyrenees  and  the  delectable  palace  the  Prince 
built  on  the  Black  Sea  coast  near  Varna.  Her  love  of 
nature — strong  as  Prince  Ferdinand's,  in  whom  it 
amounted  to  a  passion — ^was  developed  by  her  resi- 
dence, during  girlhood,  in  many  of  the  most  en- 
chanting spots  in  the  Swiss  and  Italian  Alps,  and 
amidst  the  vast  horizons  of  Southern  France. 

The  Princess,  with  her  charming  frankness  and 
her  inquisitiveness  respecting  the  country  which  she 
was  about  to  make  her  own,  captivated  the  Bulgarian 
gentlemen  who,  with  M.  Stambouloff,  were  privi- 
leged to  attend  the  wedding.  She  had  the  happy 
inspiration  of  arraying  herself  in  Bulgarian  costume 
for  her  journey  from  Sistovo  to  Sofia.  At  Sistovo 
the  Prince  himself  had  landed  and  issued  a  proclama- 
tion, eight  years  before,  on  his  way  to  his  installation 
at  Tirnovo.  From  Sistovo  to  the  capital  the  Prin- 
cess's was  a  triumphal  progress.  Her  Bulgarian 
costume  was  a  compliment  that  won  the  popular 
heart :  it  suggested  expectations  of  her  which  an 
immediate  future  abundantly  confirmed. 

Students  of  the  popular  literature  of  the  Southern 
Slavs  are  well  aware  of  the  prevalence,  even  among 
illiterate  rustics,  of  the  poetic,  or  at  any  rate  the 


234  CZAR  FERDINAND 

versifying,  faculty.  They  improvise  on  any  subject 
that  seizes  their  fancy.  So  Princess  Marie  Louise *s 
marriage,  her  beauty,  her  Bulgarian  costume,  her 
kindliness,  her  innumerable  deeds  of  charity  have 
been  the  subjects  of  hundreds  of  artless  lays,  many 
of  which  are  still  repeated. 

We  know  how  Prince  Ferdinand  spoke  of  his 
trade — metier — of  ruling  Prince.  Princess  Marie 
Louise's  idea  of  her  own  metier,  as  first  lady  of  the 
land,  was  no  less  sincere  and  exalted.  She  too,  in 
her  own  way,  would  be  a  builder  of  the  new  Bulgaria. 
She  was  an  indefatigable  organiser  of  charitable  aid. 
Her  admirable  example  was  followed  by  many  women 
in  the  rising  middle  class.  Of  modern  Bulgaria,  as 
of  ancient  Rome,  it  may  be  said  that  her  dearest 
children  are  her  soldiers.  And  indeed  there 's  much 
in  common  between  the  two  sets  of  children — a  hard 
life  on  frugal  fare  and  absolute  consecration  of  one's 
life  to  the  Patria.  Princess  Louise  shared  in  full 
measure  her  husband's  devotion  to  the  welfare  of 
the  army.  Quick-firers  and  things  of  that  sort  were 
not  in  Her  Royal  Highness 's  line,  but  she  could  test 
personally  the  soldiers'  rations,  and  see  that  they 
were  comfortably  nursed  whenever  they  needed  any 
such  help.  In  biographical  descriptions  of  the 
Princess  it  is  related  how  the  mountaineers  of  the 
Rhodope  and  the  Old  Balkan,  and  the  sea-farers  of 
the  Euxine,  loved  her.  A  '  good  Bulgarian,'  as  she 
had  resolved  to  be,  she  quickly  mastered  the  Bulgarian 
language.    Gifted  with  an  exquisite  voice,  she  sang 


1           ^^^ 

.,.^                       '  ^"  '  jjt' * "ViB^  "^^-T 

V"^^' 

^^^"/^.--J 

iMET-^'^^^^i^^sHs^i^sai 

CHILDREN    OF    THE    BULGARIAN    CZAR 


Princess  Eudoxia,  Prince  Cyril,  the  Crown  Prince  and  Princess 
Nadejda.     (Left  to  right) 


THE  CZAR  AND  HIS  FAMILY        235 

Bulgarian  lays  with  all  the  feeling  and  the  expression 
she  threw  into  the  songs  of  her  native  Italy. 

Dying  in  her  twenty-ninth  year,  Princess  Marie 
Louise  had  the  consolation  of  having  given  the 
*  Princely/  now  the  Royal,  *  House  of  Bulgaria  *  its 
first  heir.  The  four  children  whom  she  left — two 
sons  and  two  daughters — are  in  the  full,  national 
sense  of  the  expression  *the  children  of  Bulgaria.* 
Their  names  have  the  scent  of  the  soil.  Boris 
Tirnovski — Boris  of  Tirnovo — is  a  name  which  stirs 
the  imagination  of  every  Bulgar,  from  the  learned 
professor  in  the  rising  University  of  Sofia  to  the 
labourer  at  his  plough.  It  recalls  the  glories  of  an 
ancient  Empire  which  the  first  modern  Czar  has 
restored  as  far  as  the  shore  of  the  southern  sea,  and 
which  the  son  is  destined  to  rule  over.  The  younger 
son's  name,  Cyril,  is  one  of  the  most  famous  in  the 
history  of  the  race.  Prince  Cyril  has  the  title  of 
Prince  of  Preslav.  Preslav  was  a  Bulgarian  capital 
at  an  earlier  date  than  Tirnovo.  As  said  in  a  pre- 
ceding page,  Prince  Boris  is  in  his  twentieth  year. 
Prince  Cyril  is  younger  by  a  year.  Princess  Eudoxia 
is  fifteen,  and  her  sister,  Princess  Nadejda,  fourteen 
years  of  age. 

While  the  heir-apparent's  name  recalls  that  of  the 
first  great  czar,  his  brother's  name  recalls  that  of  one 
of  the  two  saints  who  first  introduced  the  Christian 
religion  and  literature  into  Bulgaria.  The  four 
children  inherit  between  them,  and  in  a  remarkable 
manner,    the    parental    temperaments,    tastes,    and 


236  CZAR  FERDINAND 

characters.  Prince  Boris  Tirnovski  inherits  his 
father's  studious  habits,  love  of  the  army,  and  interest 
in  poHtical  and  economic  subjects.  He  is  a  good 
linguist — and,  of  course,  is  as  thorough  a  master 
of  Bulgarian  as  any  native.  He  is  said  to  be  a 
readier,  or  at  any  rate  a  more  willing,  talker  than 
his  father.  Like  his  father,  also,  he  possesses  mecha- 
nical aptitudes.  Czar  Ferdinand  has  the  reputation  of 
being  among  other  things  an  expert  engine-driver: 
it  is  related  of  him  that  he  showed  his  skill  in  the  art 
in  country  trips,  during  his  sojourn  in  Paris  as 
a  *  king  in  exile.'  Prince  Cyril,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  persons  intimate  with  the  life  of  the 
palace,  bears  a  strong  resemblance  in  taste  and 
character  to  his  mother,  the  Princess  Louise :  as 
*  agile  in  intelligence '  as  *  enamoured  of  the  outdoor 
life,'  and  of  sketching  landscapes  and  seascapes. 
With  the  young  Princess  Eudoxia's  active  interest 
in  charitable  work,  especially  in  connection  with 
orphanages,  the  Bulgarian  public  are  familiar. 

This  admirable,  this  fine,  record  of  social  service 
in  the  *  Royal  House '  of  Bulgaria  is  continued  by  the 
Czarina.  The  kingly  metier  is  taken  seriously  there. 
The  Princess  Eleanore  of  the  little  German  state  of 
Reuss  was  married  to  Prince  Ferdinand  at  Gera,  the 
capital  of  the  state,  in  February  1908.  Born  in  i860, 
she  is  a  year  younger  than  Czar  Ferdinand.  It  is  an 
interesting  fact  that  a  prince  of  her  house,  a  near 
relation,  was  offered  the  Bulgarian  throne  at  the  time 
when  Prince  Alexander  of  Battenberg  was  a  candidate. 


THE  CZAR  AND  HIS  FAMILY        237 

He  fought  shy  of  it,  and  for  reasons  that  spoke 
less  for  his  valour  than  for  his  discretion.  He  saw 
no  future  for  the  half-barbaric  people  whom  all 
except  a  few  isolated  observers  deemed  incapable  of 
anything  resembling  self-government.  He  was  dis- 
posed to  believe  that  Russia  would  swallow  up  the 
country,  and  that  his  labour  as  ruler,  if  he  did  go, 
would  be  thrown  away.  Besides,  without  Eastern 
Roumelia  as  part  of  it,  a  Bulgarian  Principality  would 
not  be  much  more  imposing  than  a  Principality  of 
Reuss.  The  German  Princelet's  calculated  refusal 
is  a  curious  comment  on  Bulgarian  story  since 
then,  and  a  curious  contrast  with  the  bold  adventure 
of  the  Coburg  Prince,  who  undertook  what  was 
universally  described  as  *  the  most  thankless  task  in 
Europe.' 

Every  reader  knows  in  what  manner  the  designa- 
tion *  Lady  of  the  Lamp  '  was  enshrined  for  ever  in 
English  military  history.  Some  years  before  she 
became  the  first  Czarina  of  the  modern  Bulgars,  the 
Reuss  Princess  repeated,  on  the  bloodstained  plains 
of  Manchuria,  Florence  Nightingale's  self-devotion 
in  the  Crimean  days.  For  her  invaluable  services 
as  organising '  Sister  '  with  the  Red  Cross  ambulances 
and  hospitals,  the  Princess,  whose  name  was  scarcely 
known  outside  a  narrow  circle,  was  decorated  on  the 
field  of  war.  Like  her  great  prototype — the  first  of 
a  noble  class  of  women  whose  mere  presence  has 
soothed  many  an  hour  of  agonised  despair — ^the 
Princess  turned  to  use  in  civil  life  the  experience  she 


238  CZAR  FERDINAND 

had  gained  on  the  battlefield.  The  hospital  which 
she  has  founded,  and  directs,  in  Sofia  is  in  every  way 
a  model  institution.  It  admits  patients  of  any 
nation.  In  the  Balkan  War,  while  the  Czar  fulfils  his 
part  as  Head  of  the  Army,  the  Czarina  resumes  her 
old  occupation  of  Red  Cross  Directress. 


THK   CZAR    AND   CZARITSA   OF   BULGARIA   ON   THEIR    WKDDING    DAY 


XXIX 

LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU 

Some  years  ago,  after  the  Orient  Express  had  reached 
its  majority,  Prince  Ferdinand  caused  the  event  to 
be  celebrated  by  a  fete  in  Sofia.  He  was  said  to 
have  originated  the  idea.  He  suggested  the  pro- 
gramme for  the  occasion.  It  was  to  be  a  festival  in 
honour  of  the  men  who  had  done,  or  were  doing,  the 
actual  work  of  the  railway  service — superintendents, 
engineers,  and  workmen.  His  solicitude  for  men  who 
did  things  instead  of  talking  about  them  was  char- 
acteristic of  Prince  Ferdinand.  Himself  a  steady 
worker — ^with  his  brains,  if  not  with  his  hands — in  the 
railway  development  of  Bulgaria,  the  Prince  made  at 
the  entertainment  a  speech,  short  and  to  the  point, 
in  which  he  made  a  modest  reference  to  his  own  part 
in  the  undertaking.    *  Gentlemen,'  said  he, 

'your  presence  here  is  to  me  a  great  delight.  It  reminds 
of  years  of  effort  which  are  to  me  a  source  of  pride.  This 
day  of  rejoicing  has  for  us  a  profound  significance.  The 
Orient  Express  is  for  us  a  purveyor  of  life ;  in  uniting  our 
country  with  Europe,  in  bringing  us  into  contact  with  foreign 
ideas,  enabling  us  to  breathe  the  atmosphere  of  a  larger  life,  it 
has  vitalised  our  first  eflforts  towards  progress.  Those  among 
you  who  witnessed  the  beginnings  of  this  great  enterprise  so 
intimately  associated  with  the  first  months  of  my  reign,  will 
remember  how  formidable  the  obstacles  were  which  we  had 
to  encounter,  and  with  what  expectations  of  a  great  future 

239 


240  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Sofia  station,  then  a  little  white  building,  was  inaugurated. 
We  have  had  our  reward.  How  many  noble  enterprises  have 
there  not  sprung  from  that  first  achievement!  You  may- 
well  be  proud,  gentlemen,  of  your  work — as,  indeed,  I  myself 
am  for  such  part  as  I  may  have  performed  in  furthering  it.' 

To  the  artificer-in-chief  of  new  Bulgaria  material 
progress  never  has  meant  more  than  a  means  towards 
an  end — an  indispensable  means — the  end  being  the 
enlargement  of  the  mind  and  spirit,  which  for  him 
constitute  civilisation.  In  a  talk  about  horticulture — 
one  of  the  arts  by  which  he  has  for  many  years  been 
labouring  to  beautify  the  capital  of  his  kingdom — he 
put  the  case  between  spiritual  and  material  claims  in 
a  somewhat  whimsical  fashion.  He  was  praising  the 
generous  responsiveness  of  the  Bulgarian  soil :  *  Elle 
ne  refuse  rien  au  moindre  effort.  Vous  avez  vu 
toutes  ces  fleurs  qu'elle  nous  offre  paisiblement  sans 
compter.  .  .  .  Elles  sont  incomparables,  et  je  n'en 
vois  pas  d'aussi  parfaites.  .  .  .  Oui,  mais  pour  avoir 
des  fleurs  .  .  .  il  faut  avoir  des  canons.'  The  little 
anecdote,  related  by  his  biographer  M.  Hepp,  is  a 
remarkably  good  illustration  of  Czar  Ferdinand's 
conception  of  his  '  trade  '  as  a  king,  and  of  the  scope 
and  spirit  of  his  own  government.  He  has  had  a  care- 
ful eye,  as  all  the  world  knows,  to  the  powder  and 
shot,  while  accomplishing  more  for  the  intellectual 
and  aesthetic  development  of  his  people  than  any 
contemporary  monarch. 

Visitors  who  on  the  day  of  this  celebration  might 
have  visited  Sofia  for  the  first  time  since  Prince 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU   241 

Ferdinand's  advent,  or  his  predecessor's,  would  not 
have  recognised  the  town.  Much  had  been  done  in 
its  development  during  Alexander's  brief  reign.  But 
for  the  small  Haussmanns  of  the  first  years  of  liber- 
ated Bulgaria,  Prince  Ferdinand's  rule  reserved  a 
larger  opportunity.  While  inheriting  his  predeces- 
sor's achievement,  Prince  Ferdinand  amplified  it  in 
many  directions,  bringing  to  the  execution  of  his 
task  special  tastes  and  capacities  wherewith  Prince 
Alexander  was  not  conspicuously  gifted.  With  a  big 
empire  instead  of  a  small  principality — half  of  it  still 
a  Turkish  Pashalic  ! — for  elbow-room.  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand would  have  been  one  of  the  illustrious  class  of 
Imperial  builders,  of  whom  Hadrian  is  the  chief 
example  in  the  Occident,  and  Shah  Jehan  of  Agra  and 
Delhi  in  the  Orient.  But  let  us  pause  a  moment. 
There  's  magic  in  the  name  of  the  emperor  who, 
nearly  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  founded  the  great 
Thracian  city,  named  after  himself,  Hadrianopolis, 
now  reconquered  by  Ferdinand's  generals,  and  badly 
in  need  of  sweeping  and  cleansing,  repairing  and  re- 
building, after  its  five  or  six  centuries  of  Turkish 
occupation.  It  would,  indeed,  be  strange  if  specula- 
tion were  not  already  rife  among  King  Ferdinand's 
people  respecting  the  hierarchical  future  of  Adrian- 
ople  in  the  expanded  czardom.  But  for  the  present 
we  must  give  our  attention  to  the  existing  capital, 
whose  reconstruction  and  embellishment  has  been 
one  of  Czar  Ferdinand's  chief  preoccupations  during 
more  than  twenty  years. 


242  CZAR  FERDINAND 

All  the  documents  relating  to  Sofia,  which  Czar 
Ferdinand  is  known  to  have  gathered,  fail  to  give  much 
information,  of  a  detailed  kind,  on  its  more  remote 
past.  But  they  show  clearly  enough  that  its  vicissi- 
tudes were  many  and  most  tragical,  that  it  once  was 
populous  and  rich,  and  that  at  least  one  of  the  early 
Byzantine  emperors  entertained  some  design  of 
making  it  his  capital — perhaps  in  alternation  with 
Constantinople.  At  an  earlier  period  another  em- 
peror, Diocletian,  made  it  the  capital  of  Lower  Dacia. 
It  must  have  been  an  important  town  even  in  the 
pre-Roman  epoch.  Under  its  Graeco-Roman  name 
Serdica,  adapted,  it  is  supposed,  from  the  name  of  a 
Thracian  tribe,  it  appears  to  have  been  a  prosperous 
Greek  town  when  the  pagan  Bulgars  from  the  Volga 
and  the  Danube  overran  the  peninsula  as  far  as 
Constantinople.  The  Bulgar  czar,  Krum,  took  pos- 
session of  it  in  809.  It  was  Krum  who  caused  the 
head  of  the  Greek  emperor,  Nicephorus,  to  be  carried 
before  him  on  a  pike,  and  who  on  feast  days  drank 
his  wine  out  of  a  cup  made  of  the  emperor's  skull. 
Krum,  it  would  seem,  made  Serdica  the  capital  of  a 
kingdom  which  included  Macedonia  and  a  part  of 
Hungary.  In  1382  the  Turks  occupied  it  for  the  first 
time.  They  were  chased  out  of  it  by  Gourko's  troops, 
hurrying  up  by  forced  marches  from  the  Balkans  in 
1878.  It  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  persistence 
of  ethnic  tradition  and  of  race  survival  that  an  ancient 
name  of  the  town,  '  Triaditza,'  is  still  heard  among 
the  peasantry  in  the  mountainous  localities  of  Sofia 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU   243 

district.  It  is  supposed  to  be  a  Thracian  name.  And 
the  picturesquely  costumed  rustics  who  make  use  of 
it,  and  who  with  their  slow  bullock  carts  laden  with 
their  farm  produce  frequent  Sofia  on  market  days, 
may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  the  descendants  of  the 
ancient  Thracians. 

In  the  heroic  lays  of  the  Bulgars  there  are  many 
references  to  the  Sofia  pashas — corrupt  despots,  cruel, 
treacherous.  Yet  the  first  English  letter- writer  who 
visited  Sofia  and  described  the  state  of  European 
Turkey,  from  Belgrade  to  Adrianople  and  Stamboul, 
greatly  admired  the  Turkish  city.  The  letter- writer 
was  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu.  Her  correspond- 
ence— of  which  the  best  existing  edition  is  the  work  of 
the  late  Mr.  William  Moy  Thomas — deserves  to  be 
read  in  these  days  of  Turkish  collapse.  As  a  special 
correspondent  in  the  war  of  191 2-13,  her  ladyship 
would  have  been  invaluable.  Her  delineation  of  the 
Turk  as  she  saw  him  in  1717  is  worth  a  barrowful 
of  *  standard  '  history.  It  is  as  fresh  to-day  as  it 
was  when  written  a  hundred  and  ninety-six  years 
ago.  The  present  writer  has  had  the  privilege  of 
close  acquaintance  with  many  a  Turk  who  might 
have  dropped,  so  to  speak,  out  of  her  ladyship's 
lively  pages. 

Rejoicing  in  the  fact  (her  belief,  at  any  rate)  that 
she  had  performed  '  a  journey  not  undertaken  since 
the  Crusades,'  Lady  Mary  was  all  the  more  concerned 
to  acquire  a  correct  impression  of  the  Turk  and  his 
doings.    '  Sophia,'  she  wrote,  *  is  one  of  the  most 


244  CZAR  FERDINAND 

beautiful  towns  in  the  Turkish  Empire/  This  was 
written  from  Adrianople,  and  she  had  seen  Belgrade 
the  beautiful,  and  Nish,  and  Philippopolis.  '  Sophia,' 
she  said,  '  is  very  large  and  extremely  populous.' 
She   admired   its   '  large   and   beautiful   plain,'   its 

*  agreeable  landscape.'  Modern  travellers,  however, 
might  demur  a  little  to  the  word  beautiful,  which 
is  quite  appropriate  to  the  scenery  of  Philippopolis, 
the  next  town  on  her  route.  Lady  Mary  stopped  a 
day  or  so  in  Sofia  to  visit  the  natural  baths,  which  are 
famous  in  that  part  of  the  world,  and  as  yet  unknown 
to  Western  seekers  after  health  resorts.  The  baths 
which  Lady  Mary  visited  are  those  which  exist  to- 
day, only  reduced  in  extent,  and  fallen  from  the 
luxurious  state  in  which  she  found  them.  The 
simple  contrivances  for  hot  and  cold,  the  steps  by 
which  one  descends  into  one's  bath,  the  damp, 
insinuating  sulphurous  vapour,  the  plan  of  the 
building,  are  what  the  early  eighteenth-century 
letter-writer  describes  to  her  friends  at  home.  But 
the  Turkish  ladies  who  frequented  them  vanished 
before  the  rule  of  the  pashas  in  Sofia  came  to  an 
end. 

Lady  Mary's  description  of  the  Turkish  women 
bathers  is  an  interesting  picture  of  social  custom 
among  the  Turkish  upper  class  of  the  period.  She 
describes  how  she  herself  drove  to  them  in  a  luxurious 

*  Turkish  coach,'  richly  decorated  and  lined  with 
silk,  and  how  the  two  hundred  Turkish  ladies  whom 
she  found  there   dawdled  and   gossiped   about  the 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU   245 

fountains     dropping     *  into     marble     basins.'     She 
praises  the  exquisite  manners  of  the  Turkish  ladies. 
None  of  them,  she  remarks,  appeared  to  take  any 
notice  of  her  Western  dress,  though  it  must  have 
seemed  comically  barbarous  to  them  ;    whereas  in 
English   society,   she   moralises,   an  unconventional 
attire  would  have  provoked  whisperings  and  titterings. 
But   after    the  conversational    ice  was  broken  the 
Turkish  ladies  did  manifest  curiosity  in  the  fashions 
of  the  West.    And  what  amazed  them  most  of  all 
was  my  Lady  Mary's  stays.    They  were  shocked. 
They  pitied  poor  Lady  Mary  from  the  bottom  of 
their  unsophisticated  souls.    They  were  indignant 
with  the  barbarous  occidental  man.    *  Come  hither,' 
they   called   out,   *  and   see   how   cruelly   the  poor 
English  ladies  are  used  by  their  husbands.    You 
(English  women)  may  boast,  indeed,  of  the  superior 
liberties  allowed  you,  when  they  lock  you  up  thus  in 
a  box.'    It  is  just  possible  that  Lady  Mary  may  have 
improved  the  occasion  for  the  purpose  of  adminis- 
tering a  sly  hit  to  the  patrons  and  patronesses  of  a 
ridiculous  and  deleterious  custom.      At  any  rate,  it 
was  a  literary  art  in  which  she  was  proficient.    There 
were    Turkish    authorities    who    averred    that    her 
description  of  the  Sofia  bath  was,  in  some  details, 
over-coloured.      She    pictures    her    two    hundred 
Turkish  ladies,  *  naked,'  as  they  sip  their  coffee, 
lounging  on  their  sofas,   or  walk  about,   in  their 
*  graceful,  majestic  '  pose.    The  spectacle,  said  Lady 
Mary,  confirmed  her  in  her  opinion  that  a  beautiful 


246  CZAR  FERDINAND 

figure  would  extinguish  artistic  interest  in  a  beautiful 
face. 

The  Sofian  baths  where  Lady  Mary  spent  a  few 
hours  existed,  doubtless  on  the  same  spot,  in  Roman 
times.  The  bath-loving  Romans,  who  introduced 
their  social  customs  wherever  they  went,  may  have 
built  them.  And  the  Emperor  Maximian,  born  in 
Serdica,  may  have  turned  on  the  ice-cold  tap  there, 
and  braced  himself  up  after  his  hot  plunge.  Among 
the  minor  projects  contemplated  by  the  Fathers  of 
Sofia  is  the  development  of  the  bathing  resources 
of  their  city  and  district.  It  is  one  of  the  improve- 
ments they  have  in  view,  largely  for  the  purpose  of 
increasing  the  attractions  of  the  town  as  a  resort 
for  tourists — a  purpose  most  warmly  encouraged  by 
Czar  Ferdinand.  Natural  baths,  greatly  prized  for 
their  *  medicinal  properties,*  are  numerous,  though 
*  undeveloped,*  in  Bulgaria  and  Macedonia.  They 
will  be  turned  to  profitable  account  when  the  new 
Bulgaria  becomes,  as  it  is  certain  to  become,  one  of 
the  favourite  playgrounds  of  Europe.  Hot  and  cold 
natural  springs  side  by  side,  whereat  Bulgarian 
wives  and  daughters  do  their  washing,  are  not  un- 
known in  Macedonia.  So  before  the  coming  of  the 
Greeks  did  the  women  of  Ilios  by  the  two  fountains, 
one  hot,  one  cold,  n-qyal  Sowu,  that  spring  from  the 
eddying  Scamander.^ 

^   *  rj  fxiv  yap  6'  vSari  Xiapt^  piei,  d/t(^i  St  KaTTVos 
■yiyverai  i^  avr^s  ws  el  irvpos  aiOofievoto' 
17  5'  iTtprj  Oepii'  frpocei  eiKVia  X^^^Cv 
rj  \i6vi  4'VXPV  V  *^  vSaTos  K/)v<rTaA.Xy.' — ///W,  xxii. 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU   247 

But  if  Lady  Mary  found  in  the  Sofia  of  17 17  a 
beautiful  and  populous  city,  she  found  little  but 
misery  and  desolation  outside  Sofia  and  the  other 
large  towns.  Her  description  of  the  rural  East  was 
as  applicable  to  the  Bulgaria  of  1 877  as  to  the  country 
which  she  traversed  a  hundred  and  sixty  years  before. 
It  might  stand,  word  for  word — as  the  present  writer, 
from  his  experience  of  the  country,  can  testify — to  the 
condition  of  Thrace  and  Macedonia  until  their  deli- 
verance a  few  months  since  by  the  Bulgarian,  Servian, 
and  Greek  armies.  She  writes  of  the  Servian 
*  desert,'  through  which  she  journeyed  painfully 
with  her  baggage  waggons  and  janissary  escort : 
and  Servia  was,  naturally,  one  of  the  most  fertile 
lands  in  the  East.  The  pashas,  in  order  to  keep  their 
unruly  troops  in  order,  permitted  them  to  plunder 
their  neighbours — just  as  the  *  Red  Sultan  '  per- 
mitted his  Arnauts  to  harry  the  Macedonians.  Sofia 
was  populous,  but  the  country  was  uninhabited,  its 
people  had  fled  from  the  Turk.  Lady  Mary  speaks 
of  a  month  being  wasted  in  the  transmission  of  a 
passport  from  one  town  to  another.  There  you  have 
the  vile  system  by  which,  in  Bulgaria  until  the 
Liberation  War,  and  in  Macedonia  until  1908,  when 
the  Young  Turks,  to  their  great  credit,  did  away 
with  it,  no  one  could  pass  from  one  district  to  an- 
other without  a  teskereh.  She  tells  us  how  the 
Turkish  authorities  requisitioned  without  payment 
the  waggons  and  cattle  assigned  for  her  use,  how  the 
wretched   owners  wept  over  their  losses,  and  that 


248  CZAR  FERDINAND 

any  compensation  she  herself  might  give  them  would 
be  appropriated  by  the  Turk  in  command.  *  I  was 
almost  in  tears/  she  writes,  '  to  see  day  by  day 
the  insolences  of  our  janissary  escort  in  the  poor 
villages  through  which  we  passed.'  During  the 
agitation  which,  after  a  few  years,  has  ended  in  the 
expulsion  of  the  Turk  from  Macedonia  and  the 
greater  part  of  Thrace,  travellers  in  either  country 
must  have  been  familiar  with  the  abuse  described 
by  the  letter-writer.  Lady  Mary  seems  to  have  been 
impressed  by  the  beauty  and  comparative  prosperity 
of  Philippopolis.  The  town  was  to  a  large  extent 
Greek.  Many  rich  Greeks  lived  in  it ;  but,  she 
remarks,  *  they  are  forced  to  conceal  their  wealth, 
with  great  care,  the  appearance  of  poverty,  which 
includes  part  of  its  inconveniences,  being  all  their 
security  against  feeling  it  in  earnest.'  A  beautiful 
land,  rich  by  nature,  but  blighted  by  the  Turk — 
such  was  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu's  impression 
of  it  nearly  two  hundred  years  ago. 

A  hundred  and  forty  years  after  our  lady  traveller 
passed  through  Sofia,  Mr.  Shaw  Lefevre,  whom  we 
have  cited  at  the  beginning  of  this  volume,  saw  it. 
The  Turk  was  still  in  the  land.  And  Lady  Mary's 
'  beautiful  and  populous  '  city  had  dwindled  into  a 
*  miserably  poor '  Turkish  village.  The  Turkish 
landowners,  he  wrote,  had  driven  the  Bulgar  inhabi- 
tants into  the  less  fertile  localities.  It  is  interesting 
to  compare  his  remarks  on  Philippopolis  with  hers. 
He  found  there  *  an  appearance  of  activity  ' ;    and 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU   249 

Eastern  Roumelia,  of  which  PhiUppopoUs  was  the 
capital,  was  *  one  of  the  richest  provinces  of  Turkey.' 
He  observed  that  it  afforded  for  that  reason,  *  the 
best  opportunity  for  plunder  on  the  part  of  the 
Pashas  sent  from  Constantinople.' 


XXX 

SOFIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

The  difference  between  Ferdinandian  Sofia  and  the 
city  as  it  existed  before  his  arrival  may  be  expressed 
in  three  words — joy  of  life,  joie  de  vivre,  the  outward 
manifestations  of  which  are  the  pleasure  resorts,  the 
public  buildings,  the  public  gardens  and  parks,  the 
educational  and  artistic  institutions,  which  since  the 
beginning  of  Czar  Ferdinand's  reign  have  completely 
transformed  the  capital.  This  great  change  has  not 
merely  taken  place  during  his  reign,  it  is  to  a  great 
extent  the  result  of  his  personal  initiative.  As  the 
Sofiotes  themselves  often  say,  he  has  been  their  *  edu- 
cator.* We  have  already  recorded  how  an  English 
statesman  found  Sofia,  in  i860  or  1861,  a  *  miser- 
ably poor  '  place.  Yet  the  same  authority,  revisiting 
the  town  in  1890,  said  that  *  of  all  the  cities  in  the 
East,'  it  had  made  *  the  greatest  improvement.' 

Readers  who  had  not  personally  known  Turkish 
Sofia,  or  the  Macedonian  villages  as  they  existed 
before  their  liberation  in  1912-13,  would  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  realise  the  magnitude  of  the  change  we  are 
discussing.  The  Sofia  of  the  last  year  of  the  Turk's 
domination  resembled  any  Bulgarian  village  in  *  un- 
redeemed Macedonia  ' — except,  that  is  to  say,  in  point 
of  population,  for  the  town  still  counted  its  twenty- 
five  thousand  inhabitants.    It  was  as  dilapidated,  as 


F 

'■'j^    ""  ""    :;    "^ 

■■iM»rTiii'*-'  '- 

!^||Sf;^iwSBj33^ 

feI««laSi^iiii^  ■•Pba-^^^ 

"r^i^B 

P^     . 

TIRXOVO;   THE   ANCIENT   CAPITAL   OF   BULGARIA 


OLD    MARKKT    STALL    IN    SOFIA 


SOFIA  OLD  AND  NEW  251 

filthy,  as  terrorised  as  any  Bulgar  hamlet  in  Mace- 
donia. The  Christian  population  wore  the  depressed, 
furtive  expression  of  a  people  helpless  against  tyranny. 
The  clatter  of  a  troop  of  mounted  gendarmes  in  a 
street  of  Sofia  would  have  sent  its  people  scurrying 
into  their  houses  like  rabbits  into  their  burrows. 
These  were  the  signs  of  terror  which  must  have  struck 
every  traveller  in  Macedonia  until  the  day,  thirty-five 
years  later,  when  that  land  in  its  turn  was  liberated. 
Turkish  Sofia  on  the  eve  of  the  liberation  was  a  for- 
tuitous concourse  of  mean,  red- tiled  little  houses  and 
cabins  of  wood  and  plaster.  Its  crooked,  narrow 
lanes,  leading  nowhere  in  particular,  were  unpaved. 
In  rainy  weather  they  were  no  better  than  open  sewers. 
In  Turkish  Sofia  no  Christian  woman  dared  venture 
out  of  her  house  after  dark,  or  far  from  it  in  the  day- 
time. There  were  no  street  lamps.  No  man  went 
out  of  doors  in  the  night-time  without  a  lantern. 
Arrest,  perhaps  a  beating,  was  the  punishment  for 
breach  of  the  regulation.  *  In  Sofia  of  the  Turks,'  to 
quote  from  a  description  written  at  the  time, '  there  was 
next  to  no  business  between  it  and  the  villages  of  the 
district :  industry,  like  a  clock  run  down,  had  come 
to  a  stop :  "  alush  vanish,"  nothing  doing,  as  even 
the  Turks  themselves  are  saying,  regretfully,  in  the 
Macedonia  of  the  Turks.' 

The  only  way  to  improve  a  Turkish  town  such  as 
Sofia,  was  to  begin  by  knocking  it  down.  And  Czar 
Ferdinand's  predecessors  did  their  work  of  demolition 
so  rapidly  and  effectually  that,  when  he  first  arrived  at 


252  CZAR  FERDINAND 

his  capital,  there  was  scarcely  a  vestige  of  the  old  town 
left.  The  ancient  baths  were  there,  and  a  mosque  or 
two,  and  a  rambling,  picturesque,  old  khan,  or  cara- 
vanserai, the  only  apology  for  a  hotel  which  the  town 
possessed  before  the  liberation.  The  khan  was  well 
worth  preservation,  as  a  relic  of  the  old  regime.  With 
its  numberless  little  rooms  or  cubicles,  all  unfur- 
nished, it  was  merely  a  shelter,  where  visitors  had  to 
provide  their  own  bedding  and  provide  their  own 
food.  During  the  late  Macedonian  insurrections  it 
was  a  favourite  place  of  meeting  for  members  of 
insurrectionary  bands. 

One  of  the  Turkish  mosques  was  originally  an 
ancient  Byzantine  church.  Prince  Ferdinand  re- 
stored it  to  its  original  use.  This  reconversion  must 
not  be  supposed  to  have  in  any  way  done  violence  to 
the  feelings  of  the  Mohammedan  residents.  For,  in 
the  first  place,  a  large  number  of  them  abandoned  the 
town  and  migrated  into  Turkey  while  the  Russians 
were  advancing.  In  the  second  place,  the  Moslem 
places  of  worship  had  for  a  long  time  been  falling  into 
disuse.  A  single  mosque  suffices  at  the  present  day 
for  the  needs  of  the  Moslem  population  in  the  Bul- 
garian capital.  The  restoration  of  the  little  Byzantine 
church,  and  its  decoration,  at  Prince  Ferdinand's 
expense,  was  one  of  his  earliest  steps  in  the  task  which 
he  has  uninterruptedly  prosecuted  since  then,  the 
task  of  raising  Sofia  to  the  rank  of  a  great  European 
metropolis.  At  the  beginning  of  his  reign  the  ques- 
tion was  often  asked — as,  in  fact,  it  had  been  in  Prince 


SOFIA  OLD  AND  NEW  253 

Alexander's  time — ^whether  a  better  choice  than  that 
of  Sofia  might  have  been  made  for  the  national 
capital.  Sofia,  it  was  objected,  was,  from  the  geo- 
graphical point  of  view,  awkwardly  situated,  being 
near  the  extreme  western  boundary  of  a  country  that 
stretched  eastwards,  more  than  three  hundred  miles, 
to  the  Black  Sea.  Philippopolis,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  situated  midway  between  the  eastern  and  western 
boundaries.  It  lay  on  the  main  railway  line,  at  an 
easy  distance  from  Adrianople  and  Constantinople. 
Its  beauty  and  salubrity,  to  say  nothing  of  its  associa- 
tions with  classical  antiquity,  should  have  had  con- 
siderable weight.  Tirnovo,  also,  had  its  enthusiastic 
advocates,  for  reasons  that  may  be  understood  from 
preceding  references  to  it.  But  these  reasons  were 
more  sentimental  than  practical.  Besides,  its  position 
on  the  side  of  a  mountain  range  that  intervened 
between  it  and  the  railway  line  connecting  Western 
Europe  with  Constantinople,  rendered  its  claims  far 
inferior  to  those  of  Philippopolis.  Those  who  justi- 
fied the  choice  of  Sofia  did  so  on  political  grounds. 
They  looked  forward  to  a  time  when  the  Bulgarian 
Principality  would  become  Greater  Bulgaria,  extend- 
ing westwards  and  southwards,  and  annexing  Mace- 
donia. Or  to  the  formation  of  a  Balkan  League.  It 
was  generally  known  that  Czar  Ferdinand  earnestly 
desired  it,  as  the  best  means  for  securing  peace  both 
in  the  Balkan  states  and  European  Turkey,  and  that 
he  would  have  regarded  his  own  share  in  promoting 
it  as  the  greatest  of  his  diplomatic  successes.    In  that 


254  CZAR  FERDINAND 

case,  it  was  said,  a  short  railway  would  bring  Sofia 
into  line,  nearly  straight,  with  Salonika.  The  argu- 
ment took  it  for  granted  that  Salonika  would  become 
Bulgarian.  But  Salonika  has  been  taken  by  the 
Greeks,  and  is  certain — as  it  ought  to  be — to  remain 
in  their  possession.  However,  as  the  larger  part  of 
Macedonia  is  henceforth  Bulgarian,  the  central  posi- 
tion of  Sofia  is  a  geographical  as  well  as  political  fact. 
For  though  Philippopolis  is  still  nearer  the  central 
point,  as  measured  by  miles,  Sofia  has  the  advantage 
of  speedier  access  to  the  interior  of  the  newly  acquired 
territories.  There  have  already  been  vague  sugges- 
tions— they  can  hardly  be  serious — of  the  adoption 
at  some  indeterminate  period  of  Adrianople  as  the 
capital  of  the  Greater  Bulgaria.  They  may  be  dis- 
missed. Sofia's  destiny  as  the  capital  of  the  new 
Bulgaria  may  be  regarded  as  settled. 

So  at  the  time  when  Czar  Ferdinand  was  mak- 
ing his  speech  to  the  engineers  and  workmen,  and 
recalling  the  very  modest  beginnings  of  their  railway 
station,  the  architects  were  still  planning,  in  all 
directions,  streets  without  houses,  with  a  view  to  the 
needs  of  a  population  that  had  risen,  in  little  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  from  about  twenty-five 
thousand  to  more  than  sixty  thousand,  and  was 
still  increasing.  Every  detail  of  their  plans  under- 
went Czar  Ferdinand's  careful  scrutiny.  Behind  a 
corner  window  of  the  palace,  overlooking  the  high- 
way, is  the  Czar's  private  study,  where  he  often  works 
till  the  first  hour  or  two  of  the  morning.    Passers-by 


SOFIA  OLD  AND  NEW  255 

know  it  when  they  see  the  light  in  the  window. 
Piles  of  street  plans,  of  monumental  drawings,  of 
designs  for  the  splendid  park  and  gardens,  with  • 
their  new  palace,  which  Czar  Ferdinand  has  created 
at  Vrana,  formerly  a  mere  wilderness,  some  three  or 
four  miles  distant  from  the  city,  have  been  examined 
behind  that  corner  window. 

Czar  Ferdinand  himself  was  often  a  curious 
spectator  of  the  scenes — chiefly  on  market  days — 
which  Sofia  presented  during  the  first  hurried  years 
of  reconstruction.  Even  until  a  time  comparatively 
recent,  Sofia  presented  the  appearance  of  a  Western 
American  town  in  process  of  being  *  run  up.'  It 
reminded  some  visitors  of  the  growth  of  Johannes- 
burg or  of  Coolgardie.  The  resemblance  was  no 
less  applicable  to  the  spirit  of  the  Sofiotes  than 
to  the  work  they  were  accomplishing.  They  mani- 
fested all  the  go-ahead  ardour,  all  the  optimism,  of 
pioneers.  They  were,  in  their  way,  the  pioneers  of 
a  new  state.  During  the  troubles  of  1903,  when  a 
large  portion  of  the  capital  was  little  more  than  a 
desert  of  sand,  stone,  lime  heaps,  and  house  walls 
barely  risen  on  their  foundations,  one  might  have 
heard  the  habitues  of  the  Hotel  Panakhoff — parlia- 
mentary deputies,  journalists,  and  members  of  the 
Macedonian  internal  organisation — predict  that  in  a 
few  years  the  inhabitants  of  Monastir,  Serres,  Bansko, 
Mekomia,  and  other  towns  in  the  enslaved  province, 
would  be  emulating  their  Sofiote  kindred.  Czar  Fer- 
dinand's collection  of  photographs  depicting  street 


256  CZAR  FERDINAND 

scenes  during  the  initial  period  will  be  invaluable  to 
future  historians.  The  variety,  the  incongruity  of 
these  scenes,  exceeded  anything  in  Johannesburg 
or  Coolgardie.  *  The  barbaric  and  the  civilised,' 
the  present  author  wrote  at  the  time,  *  jostle  each 
other  in  the  streets  and  market-places  of  new  Sofia. 
The  electric  car  just  misses  the  long,  horizontal  horns 
and  the  shiny  black  muzzle  of  the  buffalo,  as  he  drags 
his  creaking  wooden  cart,  the  fashion  of  which  has 
remained  unchanged  these  two  thousand  years  and 
more.*  Close  to  the  cathedral  the  gipsy  horse- 
dealers — tall,  handsome,  brown-skinned  fellows,  wear- 
ing the  Turkish  fez,  and  long,  flowing  trousers  secured 
at  the  waist  with  a  red  sash — filled  the  air  with  their 
strident  voices.  The  gipsies,  men  and  women,  are 
perhaps  the  physically  finest  race  in  Bulgaria.  Their 
village,  Zigana  Mehalla,  situated,  if  it  still  exists,  a 
mile  or  two  from  the  town,  would  have  given  an 
artist  endless  subjects  for  picturesque  portraiture. 
Czar  Ferdinand's  ediles  would  have  cleared  out  the 
Zigany  village.  But  it  was  understood  that  he  was 
opposed  to  any  such  drastic  measures  ;  especially  as, 
though  its  hygienic  character  left  much  to  be  desired, 
it  could  be  remedied  by  hygienic  pressure.  Czar 
Ferdinand's  susceptibility  to  the  picturesque,  and 
his  kindliness,  often  carried  to  extreme  indulgence, 
was  manifested  in  that  matter  as  in  many  another. 

In  those  market-day  crowds  of  Vitosh  Street — 
the  principal  street  of  the  capital — the  Tartar  type 
of  face  was  not  infrequent.    The  countrywomen  of 


SOFIA  OLD  AND  NEW  257 

the  *  Schope '  class — a  tribal  remnant,  peculiar  to 
the  Sofia  district,  were  conspicuous  by  their  barbaric 
ornamentation.  Even  with  the  poorest,  coins — 
apart  from  the  red  flower  stuck  over  the  right  or 
left  ear — ^were  the  favourite  ornaments.  The  well- 
to-do  wore  them  in  profusion.  I  counted  more  than 
eighty  coins,  gold  and  silver,  on  the  person  of  a 
peasant  girl.  She  wore  them  in  the  form  of  a  long 
rope  twisted  among  the  coils  of  her  black  hair. 
Another  peasant  woman's  bust  was  wholly  covered 
with  silver  coins  as  with  a  breastplate.  The  Schopes' 
blocks  of  unwieldy  carts,  beside  which  lay  the  oxen 
chewing  the  cud,  suggested  the  idea  of  a  Boer  laager. 
The  Princess  Marie  Louise,  a  clever  aquarelliste,  as 
already  said,  was  often  fascinated  by  these  types  of 
costume  and  physique,  taking  her  *  notes  '  of  them 
rapidly  as  the  countryfolk  trudged  past  her  palace 
windows.  In  a  few  years  more  these  picturesque 
varieties  in  the  market-places  of  Sofia  will  be  civilised 
beyond  recognition.  The  Sofia  crowds  are  becoming 
as  monotonous  in  appearance  as  crowds  in  London. 
Even  the  policeman  of  Sofia  resembles,  in  his  air  of 
civic  benignity,  his  London  brother.  To  old  Sofiotes, 
who  remember  the  evil  time,  the  diflFerence  between 
the  era  of  the  pashas  and  that  of  Czar  Ferdinand  is 
just  the  difference  between  the  zaptieh — the  Turkish 
gendarme — and  the  modern  policeman.  The  zaptieh^ 
as  often  as  not  an  ex-bashi-bazouk,  was  an  irresponsible 
tyrant.  Those  country-people  whom  we  are  describ- 
ing would  not  have  ventured  upon  any  such  exhibition 


258  CZAR  FERDINAND 

of  their  possessions  as  invests  the  modern  town  with 
so  much  of  its  colour,  Hfe,  and  movement.  They 
would  have  run  too  great  a  risk  —  unless  they 
were  in  sufficient  force — of  being  waylaid  on  their 
homeward  march  and  robbed  of  the  proceeds  of  their 
sales.  Highway  robbery  by  Turkish  gendarmes  and 
soldiers — whose  pay  was  usually  months,  or  even 
years,  in  arrears — ^was  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the 
Bulgaria  of  1877. 


XXXI 

THE  CZAR'S  COUNTRY  PALACES 

But  in  so  far  as  Czar  Ferdinand's  personal  achieve- 
ment in  and  about  the  capital  is  concerned,  the  most 
striking  example  of  it  is  to  be  seen  at  Vrana,  the 
already  named  suburb  of  Sofia.  Vrana  means  a  crow 
— ^perhaps  an  apt  designation  for  the  locality  when 
Czar  Ferdinand  bought  it.  It  was  then  a  wilderness^ 
exactly  as  it  was  a  few  years  earlier  when  the  Turk 
was  still  in  the  land.  It  was  a  terrain  vague ^  a  place 
for  shot  rubbish,  capable,  to  all  appearance,  of  pro- 
ducing nothing  better  than  nettles.  Czar  Ferdinand 
planned  his  estate  of  Vrana,  and  equipped  it,  after 
many  years  of  labour  and  expense,  with  a  view  to 
making  it  not  only  a  palace  for  occasional  retreat  from 
the  commonplace  capital,  but  also  a  sort  oi  pepiniere^ 
as  he  has  expressed  it — a  nursery,  and  model  for  the 
whole  of  Bulgaria.  For  the  Turks,  in  nearly  five 
centuries*  occupation,  had  shown  no  interest  in  pre- 
serving any  of  its  cultivable  beauties,  except  at  their 
official  residences.  Mount  Vitosh,  for  example,  which 
rises  high  over  Sofia  plain,  and  from  whose  peaks  some 
of  the  finest  prospects  in  Europe  are  obtainable,  was 
in  its  lower  parts  almost  stripped  of  its  forests.  To 
reproduce  a  few  words  from  the  present  writer's  past 
account  of  the  matter  :  *  The  Turk  has  no  notion 
whatever  of  the  art  of  forest  conservancy.    When  he 


26o  CZAR  FERDINAND 

wants  wood  he  simply  butchers  a  tree  and  takes  of  it 
what  he  needs.  He  would  say  that  preservation  was 
*'  God's  business,"  and  that  trees  were  made  by  God 
for  man's  use  ...  in  saying  it  he  would  consider  he 
was  doing  something  religiously  meritorious.' 

Tree-planting,  therefore,  was  Czar  Ferdinand's 
first  care.  The  slopes  of  Vitosh,  the  Plain  of  the 
Crows,  are  a  triumph  of  scientific  forestry.  His  next 
undertaking  was  the  building  of  a  country  house, 
somewhat  in  Byzantine  style,  since  superseded  by  an 
elaborately  constructed,  luxurious  palace — a  sort  of 
Windsor  (to  compare  small  things  with  great)  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  capital ;  as  the  Czar's  palace  of 
Euxinograd,  on  the  shore  of  the  Black  Sea,  may,  with 
more  appropriateness,  be  compared  with  Osborne 
House.  The  Czar's  vast  *  paradise  '  of  Vrana  is  not 
jealously  shut  in  by  high  walls  and  inexorable  watch- 
men from  the  public.  On  the  contrary,  it  is,  as 
already  implied,  a  kind  of  free  object-lesson  for  the 
public.  A  whole  army  of  labourers  and  gardeners  is, 
or  lately  used  to  be,  constantly  employed  upon  it — 
Czar  Ferdinand  himself  (occasionally  in  native  Bul- 
garian garb)  often  strolling  about  among  them.  He 
had  the  tastes  and  the  capacities  of  a  gentleman 
farmer  before  he  became  ruler  of  Bulgaria,  and  he  has 
cultivated  them  ever  since.  Long,  winding  avenues 
of  birch  and  pine  lead  from  the  open  country  through 
the  park  and  gardens  to  the  chateau.  Vrana,  besides 
being  an  abode  of  rest  and  pleasure,  is  a  live  museum 
of  the  arts  of  forestry,  horticulture,  agriculture,  and 


THE  CZAR'S  COUNTRY  PALACES     261 

kitchen-gardening.  Prince  Ferdinand's  cabbages 
would  carry  off  first  prizes  at  any  show.  His  plan- 
tation, a  large  one,  is  stocked  with  a  great  variety  of 
trees,  many  of  them  imported,  at  the  Prince's  expense, 
from  foreign  lands.  Even  the  shrubberies  must  have 
cost  a  fortune.  But  the  special  glory  of  Vrana  is  its 
flower-gardening.  Czar  Ferdinand  is  an  accom- 
plished botanist.  It  is  said  of  him  that,  during  his 
visits  to  Paris,  the  corridors  of  his  hotel  apartments 
were  often  encumbered  with  boxes  of  flower  seeds 
and  rare  flowering  plants,  collected  by  his  agents  for 
transmission  to  Sofia.  Asia  Minor,  wherein  Czar 
Ferdinand  travelled  in  his  younger  days,  Algiers, 
India,  China,  Japan,  South  America,  tropical  Africa, 
have  all  contributed  to  stock  the  flower  plots  and  hot- 
houses of  Vrana.  Without  the  adjunct  of  water  no 
landscape  is  perfect,  and  Vrana  has  its  little  lakes  with 
their  swans,  lotuses,  and  water  lilies.  It  might  be 
said  that  Vrana  was  devised  for  the  personal  gratifica- 
tion of  a  wealthy  ruler,  to  whom  his  official  salary  was 
a  matter  of  little  moment,  and  to  whom  his  position  in 
the  land  gave  exceptional  opportunities  for  indulging 
a  favourite  hobby. 

But  that  would  be  to  take  a  most  narrow,  ungen- 
erous, and  unjust  view  of  Prince  Ferdinand's  purpose. 
Vrana  is  also  meant  to  exercise  an  educative  influ- 
ence through  the  scientific  experts,  chiefly  French 
and  German,  whom  he  has  selected,  and  the  assist- 
ants and  labourers  whom  they  are  training.  These 
workers   at    Vrana  are   the  future  superintendents 


262  CZAR  FERDINAND 

of  horticultural  institutions  and  public  gardens  in 
the  towns  of  the  new  Bulgaria — towns  which,  in  the 
Turkish  days,  knew  nothing  of  open-air  recreations  of 
a  refined  order,  and  in  which  such  recreations  as  did 
exist  were  reserved  for  men  only.  And  the  Bulgarian 
soil — to  cite  once  more  Czar  Ferdinand's  praise  of  it 
— is  generously  responsive  to  innovations  such  as  his. 
The  new  Czar's  territories  are  in  the  way  to  become 
the  Garden  of  South-Eastern  Europe. 

To  overlook,  in  the  statesman  and  diplomatist,  the 
missionary  of  taste  would  be  to  form  a  very  inade- 
quate notion  of  the  character  and  temperament  of 
Czar  Ferdinand.  It  might  be  said  of  him,  as  of 
Greek  philosophers  of  old,  that  he  identified  the 
beautiful  and  the  good.  He  loves  music,  and  the 
recent  development  (not  very  advanced  as  yet)  of 
musical  and  dramatic  art  in  Bulgaria  owes  much  to  his 
personal  infiuence  and  encouragement.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  native  airs — ^very  generally  plaintive — to 
which  the  heroic  and  festal  songs  of  the  people  have 
been  sung  generation  after  generation,  Bulgarian 
music  has  been  of  a  hybrid  kind,  the  Hungarian  ele- 
ment (according  to  the  experts)  being  predominant. 
But  the  native  spirit  is  being  released  in  music  as  in 
politics.  The  Sofia  Opera  House,  the  first  of  its  kind 
in  Greater  Bulgaria,  was  an  enterprise  which  Czar 
Ferdinand  earnestly  encouraged.  It  was  inaugurated 
by  him  five  years  ago.  In  stirring  themes  for  operatic 
and  dramatic  art,  Bulgarian  story,  and  above  all  folk- 
poetry — in  which  the  history  of  the  race  is  enshrined — 


THE  CZAR'S  COUNTRY  PALACES     263 

are  exceptionally  rich.  Than  the  drama,  now  in  its 
infancy,  there  is  no  more  alluring  field  for  native  Bul- 
garian genius.  And,  indeed,  it  would  be  surprising 
if  the  expansion  of  the  national  spirit,  to  which  the 
world  has  for  the  last  six  months  been  witness,  did  not 
manifest  itself  in  this  direction  also.  Bulgaria,  like  a 
certain  greater  nation,  may  have  its  *  spacious  time.* 
'  It  may  be  safely  asserted,'  wrote  the  English  states- 
man to  whom  we  have  referred  more  than  once,  *  that 
nothing  more  remarkable  has  occurred  in  modern 
Europe  than  the  resurrection  of  the  Bulgarians,  the 
capacity  they  have  already  shown  for  self-govern- 
ment, and  the  results  they  have  already  achieved.' 
The  truth  is  that  the  Bulgarians,  although  not  so 
spirituel  as  their  Greek  neighbours,  are  a  remarkably 
versatile  people.  In  an  earlier  work^  the  author  has 
cited  the  judgment  of  the  Principal  of  Robert  College, 
Constantinople  (given  to  him  long  ago),  on  his  Bul- 
garian students  :  they  were,  taken  all  in  all,  superior 
to  their  Greek,  Servian,  and  Armenian  comrades. 

Though  they  had  not  a  great  war  on  their  hands, 
Prince  Alexander  and  Stambouloff  had  more  troubles 
of  an  irritating  character  than  fell  to  Czar  Ferdinand's 
lot  after  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign.  They  had  less 
leisure — and  less  disposition — to  foster  the  *  humani- 
ties,' in  the  wide  sense  of  the  word,  and  on  a  public 
scale.  Lajoie  de  vivre  was  the  outcome  chiefly  of  the 
Ferdinandian  period.  In  these  months  it  is  clouded 
over  ;  nor  will  it  be  recovered  in  a  day. 

^  Turkey  and  the  Eastern  Question  (Messrs.  Jack),  191 3. 


264  CZAR  FERDINAND 

But  though  Czar  Ferdinand  is  at  great  pains  to 
embellish  the  capital  of  his  kingdom,  his  yearly  so- 
journ in  it  is  short.  It  is  said  that  the  Sofian  climate 
is  unfavourable  to  his  children's  health.  A  great 
part  of  his  time  is  spent  at  Vrana,  or  in  the  delightful 
chalet  which  he  built  many  years  ago  high  up  on  the 
slope  of  Mount  Rilo,  near  the  famous  monastery,  or 
at  Euxinograd,  perhaps  his  favourite  residence.  Czar 
Ferdinand  has  created  at  Euxinograd  a  retreat  as 
charming  as  Vrana,  but  neither  so  ample  nor  so 
variously  endowed.  The  chateau,  with  its  beautiful 
park,  is  situated  on  the  north-east  of  Varna  Bay, 
about  four  miles  from  Bulgaria's  most  thriving  sea- 
port. The  chateau  was  at  first  built  for  Prince 
Alexander,  who  did  nothing  to  improve  or  beautify 
the  estate.  The  park  and  gardens  are  entirely  Czar 
Ferdinand's  creation.  The  building  itself  possesses 
but  little  architectural  interest.  But  its  contents, 
including  works  of  art  collected  by  the  Czar  on  his 
travels,  are  varied  and  valuable.  Some  of  them  betray 
a  nostalgic  mood,  not  for  the  country  of  his  birth, 
which  is  Austria,  but  for  France,  the  home  of  his 
royal  ancestors.  There  are  one  or  two  imitations  of 
the  ponds  of  Versailles,  and  a  fragment  of  the  Palace  of 
St.  Cloud.  The  park  and  gardens  were  designed  by 
the  French  landscapist,  M.  Andre,  under  the  Prince's 
supervision.  M.  de  Launay  describes  the  residence 
as  somewhat  resembling  that  of  a  bourgeois  grown 
suddenly  rich.  But  Euxinograd  is  new.  Time,  the 
artist,  will  impart  to  it  a  mellower  tone.    To  visitors 


THE  CZAR'S  COUNTRY  PALACES     265 

who  have  been  privileged  to  view  the  interior,  the 
chateau  seems  overcrowded  with  objects  that  would 
be  more  appropriately  housed  in  a  public  museum. 
But  all  agree,  and  feel  with  its  owner,  that  Euxino- 
grad  possesses  a  most  subtle,  indefinable  charm — 
the  charm,  especially,  of  the  vast  sea  horizon,  and 
the  charm  of  solitude,  more  complete  than  that  of 
suburban  Vrana.  The  view  of  Varna  seaport,  on  the 
southern  shore  of  the  bay,  is  captivating.  Euxinograd 
has  become  an  immense  aviary,  filled  with  the  songs 
of  birds  and  the  rustle  of  wings,  because  of  the 
King's  strict  regulations  against  the  destruction  of 
bird  life.  People  who  are  intimate  with  Czar 
Ferdinand  are  familiar  with  his  taste  for  solitary 
musing.  On  a  rock  by  the  seashore  there  *s  a  rustic 
seat,  on  which,  as  his  friends  say,  he  sits  meditating 
for  hours.  It  is  the  fascination  of  the  sea.  There 
also  sat,  fourteen  years  ago,  with  her  pencil  and  brush, 
the  Czar's  first  wife.  Princess  Marie  Louise.  Euxino- 
grad is  delightful  in  the  summer  months  but  dreary 
in  the  depths  of  winter.  Then  the  King's  pleasure 
house,  *  on  its  own  dark  cape  reclined,'  listens  to 
*  its  own  wild  wind.' 


XXXII 

CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  RILO  MONKS 

In  the  Bulgarian  Alps,  to  which  travellers  have  given 
the  name  of  Little  Switzerland,  stands  a  lofty  moun- 
tain, named  by  the  Turks  Moussa  Allah,  *  the  moun- 
tain which  gazes  upon  God.*  There  are  loftier 
peaks  than  Moussa  Allah,  but  owing  to  its  situation 
it  commands  a  view  which,  for  sublimity  and  beauty, 
is  unequalled  in  the  Rhodope.  From  its  summit, 
on  a  clear  day,  the  southern  boundary  of  new 
Bulgaria,  the  ^Egean  Sea,  about  a  hundred  miles 
distant  as  the  crow  flies,  is  faintly  visible.  The 
mountain  is  a  favourite  haunt  of  Czar  Ferdinand's, 
not  for  sport  only,  but  for  nature-worship.  One  of 
the  most  pleasant  traits  in  the  Czar's  character — as 
those  say  who  have  been  his  guests — is  his  delight  in 
surprising  his  friends  with  some  vision  of  natural 
beauty.  And  so  it  has  often  happened,  we  are  told, 
that  in  the  dead  of  night  Czar  Ferdinand  has  waked 
up  his  guests  from  their  slumber,  for  their  mountain 
climb  to  the  top,  to  watch  the  first  rose  of  the  dawn 
on  the  white  peak  of  Rilo — the  loftiest  in  the 
Bulgarian  Alps — and  over  the  vast  Macedonian  land- 
scape, stretching  southwards  to  the  ^Egean  strand, 
that  for  centuries  has  haunted  the  dreams  of  every 
patriotic  Bulgarian. 

One  may  suppose  that  this  last  consideration, 

200 


FERDINAND  AND  THE  RILO  MONKS    267 

among  others,  may  have  influenced  Czar  Ferdinand 
in  his  periodical  pilgrimages  to  St.  John's  Monastery, 
where  a  portion  of  its  right  wing  was  set  apart  and 
furnished,  as  it  still  is,  for  him  and  his  suite.  Next 
to  Mount  Athos,  this  greatest  and  most  renowned 
of  the  south-eastern  monasteries  is  situated  on  a 
terrace  of  Mount  Rilo,  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
King's  chalet  of  Tcham-Koria.  Perched  aloft  on 
its  mountain- side,  the  chalet  is  a  most  convenient 
central  point,  both  for  the  excursions  and  the  picnics 
with  which  the  Czar  delights  to  entertain  his  guests, 
and  for  hunting  expeditions.  All  who  have  had  the 
honour  of  being  the  Czar's  guests  describe  him  as 
'  the  ideal  host,'  as  keenly  impressionable  to  nature's 
beauties  as  he  was  in  his  youth,  and  always  ready 
to  play  the  part  of  cicerone.  For  the  hunter,  the 
massif  of  Mount  Rilo  is  one  of  the  most  attractive 
in  Europe.  Deer,  chamois,  bears,  wolves  abound  in 
it ;  and  trout  in  the  Rila,  and  in  the  Strouma,  the 
classical  Strymon.  The  good  monks  of  St.  Ivan 
Rilsky — St.  John  of  Rilo — have  often  supplied  the 
Czar's  table  in  his  own  appartement  of  the  monastery 
with  fresh  fish  from  these  streams,  or  from  the  little 
lakes  that  give  the  finishing  touch  to  the  beauty  of 
these  solitudes.  From  one  of  these  lakes — as  en- 
chantingly  blue  as  Ruskin's  Lake  Bourget — springs 
the  Hebrus,  the  stream  of  the  legendary  Orpheus, 
otherwise  the  Maritza,  a  name  now  familiar  to 
readers  of  war  news. 

Czar   Ferdinand  reveres  St.  Ivan  Rilsky 's  both 


268  CZAR  FERDINAND 

for  its  religious  associations  and  for  the  fact  that  it 
is  the  cradle  of  new  Bulgaria.  It  is,  at  any  rate,  more 
entitled  to  the  designation  than  any  place  in  the 
Czar  *s  dominions ,  even  Tirnovo  not  excepted .  During 
the  ages  of  the  Turkish  and  Graeco-Turkish  oppres- 
sion— ^when  the  Greek  often  was  a  deadlier  enemy 
even  than  the  Turk — the  monks  of  Mount  Rilo  saved 
the  last  spark,  as  it  seemed,  of  Bulgarian  patriotism 
from  extinction.  The  monks  saved  it  often  by 
force  of  arms,  for  they  were  sturdy  warriors,  as  expert 
with  their  bows  and  arrows,  or  muskets  and  swords, 
and  vicious  knives  (yataghans)  as  with  their  prayer- 
books — perhaps  even  more  so,  seeing  that  many  of 
them  have  at  all  times  been  illiterate ;  but  still  more 
by  their  preservation  of  the  historical  records  of  the 
race,  and  their  training  of  the  village  teachers,  who 
long  before  the  Liberation  War  of  1877  were  the 
propagandists  of  the  national  idea.  Many  a  daskal 
(teacher)  from  Ivan  Rilsky's  passed  to  and  fro 
between  his  village  school  and  the  lair  of  some  in- 
surgent band  in  the  mountains.  During  his  retreats 
in  the  monastery,  which  often  lasted  for  days  at 
a  time.  Czar  Ferdinand  heard  from  the  Igoumen 
(abbot)  many  a  stirring  tale  of  the  monks'  experi- 
ences with  Turkish  soldiers,  Arnaut  marauders,  and 
bashi-bazouks. 

Czar  Ferdinand's  periodical  journeys  to  the  monas- 
tery began  early  in  his  reign.  To  Princess  Marie 
Louise,  who  always  accompanied  her  husband,  these 
periodical  visits  to  the  monastery  were  a  consolation 


FERDINAND  AND  THE  RILO  MONKS    269 

and  delight,  especially  in  the  last  years  of  her  short 
life,  when  her  health  and  strength  were  giving  way. 
Often  when  the  Prince  was  talking  history  with  the 
abbot,  or  exploring  some  unfrequented  nook  by  a 
cascade  of  the  Rila,  Princess  Louise  would  climb  the 
mountain-side  from  her  quarter  of  the  monastery  to 
the  chapel  and  the  grotto  over  which  Father  Joseph 
kept  watch  and  ward.  I  have  had  the  privilege  of  a 
talk  with  the  same  kindly  old  monk  and  visionary,  who 
had  lived  there  solitarily  for  well-nigh  forty  years.  In 
the  chapel  St.  Ivan  died  nine  hundred  years  ago ; 
in  the  grotto  his  life  was  passed.  A  later  visitor  than 
myself,  M.  Jules  Mancini,  reproduced  in  La  Revue  de 
Paris  Father  Joseph's  account  of  the  Princess's  visits 
to  the  chapel.  For  the  old  visionary,  who  delighted 
in  the  thought  that  his  prayers  for  the  Princess  would 
all  the  more  readily  be  heard  since  Mount  Rilo  was 
so  near  the  skies,  the  Princess  entertained  feelings  of 
sincere  friendship.  *  How  kindly  and  beautiful  she 
was,'  Father  Joseph  remarked  to  his  visitor ; 

*  she  sat  there,  quite  at  home,  just  where  you  are,  and  was 
so  pleased  to  listen  to  the  talk  of  such  a  poor  hermit  as 
myself.  Seeing  how  pale  she  was,  exhausted  by  the  steep 
ascent,  but  with  her  resolution  undaunted,  I  sometimes  asked 
her  whether  she  had  taken  any  sustaining  refreshment,  such 
as  the  monastery  was  provided  with.  '*  Father  Joseph,"  she 
would  reply,  with  a  smile,  "  on  penance  days  I  would  have 
none.  It  is  no  great  merit  in  me  to  deprive  myself  twice  in 
the  week,  in  this  place  where  the  holy  Ivan,  for  so  many  years, 
lived  wholly  on  herbs."  One  day  I  told  her  how  distressed  I 
was,  in  this  my  hermitage,  at  being  unable  to  welcome  her 


270  CZAR  FERDINAND 

arrival  with  the  sound  of  bells — as  is  the  custom  in  our 
monasteries.  Well,  the  good  Queen,  some  time  after,  sent 
me  the  silver  bell  which  you  see  there  on  the  chapel  wall.  I 
had  not  the  opportunity  of  thanking  my  Sovereign  lady.  She 
had  seen  my  hermitage  for  the  last  time.  God,  in  His  good- 
ness, high  there  in  the  heavens,  sounded  for  her  :he  golden 
bells  of  paradise.  Come  and  I  shall  show  you  the  spot  where 
so  often  she  knelt  in  prayer.' 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Father  Joseph  spoke  of  the 
Princess  as  '  Queen,'  though  Prince  Ferdinand  did 
not  become  a  king  until  eight  years  after  her  death. 

Hard  by  Czar  Ferdinand's  accustomed  corner  of 
the  monastery  is  the  fourteenth-century  tower  built  by 
a  Servian  notable  named  Krael,  and  still  bearing  his 
name.  It  is  the  only  part  of  the  original  monastery 
that  survives.  The  Czar  took  a  particular  interest 
in  it ;  and  with  good  reason  :  it  was  the  scene  of  the 
last  tragical  deed  in  the  monastery,  and  one  of  the  last 
which  led  to  the  expulsion  of  the  Turk  from  Bulgaria. 
It  was  on  the  eve  of  the  war  of  1877.  The  hero  of  the 
tale — a  tale  which,  as  the  monks  of  Rilo  said,  almost 
moved  the  Prince  to  tears — ^was  the  Pope  (priest) 
S  toy  an,  whose  name  is  celebrated  in  many  a  rustic 
song,  and  will  long  be  remembered  in  Bulgaria.  Pope 
Stoyan,  like  many  another  of  his  sacred  profession, 
was  leader  of  a  band  of  comitajis  who  gave  the  Turks 
much  trouble  on  the  Macedonian  border.  He  had 
escaped  from  them  scores  of  times.  He  and  his  band 
had  sent  many  of  them  to  their  graves.  Among  the 
members  of  his  band  were  his  two  sons.    Pope  Stoyan 


FERDINAND  AND  THE  RILO  MONKS    271 

was  caught  at  last.    His  Turkish  captors  carried  him 
to  the  monastery,  whose  inmates  they  supposed  to  be 
in  collusion  with  him.    They  thrust  him  into  a  sub- 
terranean dungeon  of  the  Krael  tower — in  spite  of  the 
monks'  prayers  and  remonstrances — to  await  his  trial, 
on  the  following  day,  for  '  brigandage  '  (the  Turkish 
equivalent  for  political  insurrection)  and  waging  war 
on  the  Padishah.    Every  one  knew,  and  none  better 
than  Pope  Stoyan,  what  kind  of  *  trial '  was  in  store 
for  him.    He  himself  would  suffer  death — a  penalty 
which  had  no  terrors  for  him — but  not  before  he  had 
been  put  to  the  torture  in  order  to  extract  from  him 
his  comrades'  names  and  the  secrets  of  their  organisa- 
tion.   With  all  his  courage,  moral  and  physical.  Pope 
Stoyan  dreaded  the  possible  results  of  the  ordeal. 
Next  morning,  when  his  two  sons,  with  some  mem- 
bers of  their  band,   arrived  at  the   monastery  to 
attempt  his  rescue,  they  learnt  that  their  father  had 
put  an  end  to  his  life.    *  Our  father  is  dead,'  said  one 
of  the  sons ;  *  it  is  well.  Tortures  can  wring  no  secrets 
from  him.'    The  English  reader,  whose  knowledge  of 
the  tragical  Near  East  is  derived  solely  from  news- 
paper articles,  which  are  chiefly  concerned  with  the 
political  question,  might  consider  the  son's  reflection 
as  brutally  callous,  or  imaginary.    But  the   reader 
would  be  greatly  mistaken.    Torture  was  the  Turk's 
practice   for   the   purpose   of  extorting   confession. 
Many  have   died  under  it  without   divulging   any 
secret.    And  many,  like  Pope  Stoyan,  have  taken  the 
safer  course  of  suicide.    The  commonest  course  for 


272  CZAR  FERDINAND 

comitajis  driven  to  an  extremity  from  which  there  was 
no  escape  was  to  reserve  for  themselves  their  last 
bullet.  Betrayal  under  torture  was  not,  in  their 
leaders*  estimation,  unpardonable  ;  but  it  often  hap- 
pened in  desperate  times  that  a  leader,  before  ad- 
mitting recruits  to  his  band,  would  warn  them  what 
their  certain  fate  would  be  if  they  were  captured,  and 
then  advise  them,  if  they  felt  the  smallest  hesitation, 
to  return  to  their  homes  and  serve  the  insurgents 
in  some  safer  way.  But  voluntary  betrayal  —  real 
betrayal — ^was  inexorably  avenged.  Among  the  lay 
community,  as  well  as  among  the  rebels  in  the  field, 
it  was  regarded  as  the  unpardonable  sin.  I  myself 
knew  a  Macedonian  woman,  a  member  of  a  comitaji 
society,  who  voluntarily  bore  witness  against  her  own 
son  for  his  betrayal  of  secrets  to  the  Turk.  Her  silent 
agony  had  left  upon  her  face  its  indelible  mark. 

Czar  Ferdinand  in  Rilo  Monastery  was  a  bird  of 
passage  in  what  used  to  be,  to  the  outbreak  of  the 
Macedonian  war,  *  the  serpents'  nest ' — its  Turkish 
designation.  For  though  the  monks  saw  their  last 
fight  in  the  Russian  war,  their  monastery  became  the 
temporary  home  of  refugees  from  the  Turkish  side  of 
the  frontier.  They  all  were  *  serpents ' — men,  women, 
and  children  alike — who  took  shelter  there ;  and  the 
monks  who  relieved  them  were  guilty  of  an  offence 
against  international  law,  for  which  Czar  Ferdinand 
and  his  ministers  were  held  by  the  Turk  responsible  ! 
The  whole  of  the  Rilo  region  was,  from  the  Turkish 
point   of  view,  the   haven   of  '  brigands.'    In   the 


FERDINAND  AND  THE  RILO  MONKS    273 

eighteenth  century,  and  part  of  the  nineteenth,  the 
monastery  was  often  besieged  by  the  Turks — irregular 
troops,  for  the  most  part,  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  bandits.  Sometimes  they  had  the  good  fortune 
to  be  relieved  by  a  comitaji  band — as  when  the 
voivode  (captain)  Iliev,  surprising  a  company  of 
Arnaut  assailants,  cut  their  throats  and  tossed  their 
bodies  into  the  stream  down  below,  exclaiming  that 
he  would  not  waste  his  precious  powder  on  such 
ruffians.  But  usually  the  monks  had  to  depend  on 
their  own  resources.  In  the  first  place,  the  monastery 
might  almost  be  called  a  fortress.  Its  lofty  walls  were 
loopholed  for  musket  fire.  It  maintained  a  small 
permanent  force  of  '  pandours,'  a  species  of  armed 
police.  In  former  times  there  were  about  sixty  of 
them ;  nowadays  there  are  only  three  or  four.  They 
still  keep  up  the  practice,  as  in  the  fighting  era,  of 
challenge  at  the  gate,  even  when  the  man  outside, 
seen  through  the  iron  bars,  is  a  harmless  monk  of  the 
establishment.  It  was  quite  in  accordance  with  the 
fierce,  barbaric  temper  of  the  age  that  many  of  the 
pandours  appointed  to  guard  a  holy  place,  such  as 
the  monastery  of  Mount  Rilo,  were  ex-freebooters — 
accepted  not  because  of  repentance  for  their  sins,  but 
because  of  their  fighting  powers.  But,  as  already  said, 
the  monks  also  were,  many  of  them,  expert  with  their 
weapons.  Czar  Ferdinand  has  more  than  once  paid 
a  visit  to  their  *  armoury  * — not  a  large  collection,  how- 
ever— in  which  are  preserved  specimens  of  weapons 
dating  from  the  age  of  the  bow  and  arrow  to  that  of 


274  CZAR  FERDINAND 

the  rifle.  The  *  armoury  '  is,  so  to  speak,  a  marginal 
note  to  the  history  of  this  sanctuary  of  contemplation 
and  prayer. 

But  Ivan  Rilsky*s  has  a  national  interest  in  yet 
another  sense,  one  of  which  every  '  good  Bulgarian ' — 
as  Czar  Ferdinand  likes  to  describe  himself — has  a 
lively  appreciation.  With  the  exception  of  the  four- 
teenth-century tower,  the  existing  monastery  dates 
from  1833.  The  ancient  building  was  burnt  down. 
The  huge  modern  building,  with  its  Byzantine 
church,  is  the  production  of  voluntary,  unpaid 
labour.  Masons  and  carpenters  and  decorators  from 
all  parts  of  Bulgaria  and  Macedonia  took  part  in  the 
restoration.  The  name  Bulgaria,  just  wiritten,  was,  in 
the  Turkish  sense,  a  misnomer  :  for  the  pashas  would 
have  said  that  there  was  no  such  country  as  Bulgaria. 
At  the  beginning  of  this  volume  we  have  seen  how  an 
eminent  English  statesman  admitted  that  in  i860  he 
was  unaware  of  the  existence  of  a  Bulgarian  people. 
And  the  rebuilding  of  Ivan  Rilsky's  took  place  a 
generation  earlier.  The  builders  knew  better  than 
the  English  tourist  politician.  St.  John  of  Rilo  is  the 
patron  saint  of  Bulgaria,  and  those  humble  builders 
of  eighty  years  ago,  whose  names  are  as  unknown 
as  the  authors  of  the  heroic  folk-songs  which  the 
peasantry  have  preserved  all  these  centuries,  firmly 
believed  in  their  country's  renaissance. 

In  the  library  of  the  monastery  is  preserved  a 
priceless  document,  which  Prince  Ferdinand,  the  first 
day  of  his  first  pilgrimage  to  the  place,  studied  long  and 


FERDINAND  AND  THE  RILO  MONKS    275 

silently.  It  is  the  only  known  decree,  or  document 
of  any  kind,  bearing  the  signature  of  a  Bulgarian  czar 
— and  the  ancient  czardom  lasted  six  centuries.  The 
beautifully  written  and  illuminated  parchment  dates 
from  1378,  and  bears  the  signature  of  Ivan  Schishman, 
last  of  the  czars.  Like  his  predecessors,  Schishman 
described  himself  as  the  Czar  of  the  Bulgars  and 
Greeks.  In  this  document  he  assigns  to  St.  John*s 
Monastery  the  perpetual  ownership  of  the  lands 
watered  by  the  Rila  and  the  Strouma  (Strymon)  on- 
wards through  North-Eastern  Macedonia  ;  and  ex- 
presses his  desire  that,  when  the  *  Eternal  Czar  *  shall 
'  summon  him  to  himself,'  his  *  ordinance  '  shall  be 
respected  by  his  son,  or  by  any  member  of  the  royal 
family  who  may  *  succeed  him  '  on  the  Bulgarian 
throne.  Eleven  years  later  was  fought  the  battle  of 
Kossovo,  which  established  the  supremacy  of  the 
Turks  over  all  the  countries  of  the  Southern  Slavs. 
Czar  Schishman  and  his  son  and  his  brothers  van- 
ished for  ever  from  human  ken, — and  the  Bulgarian 
state  for  five  centuries.  Twenty- three  years  or  so 
after  his  reading  of  the  MS.,  and  his  curious  scrutiny 
of  the  mediaeval  czar's  sign-manual.  Czar  Ferdinand, 
the  first  czar  of  the  modern  epoch,  was  reconquering 
Czar  Schishman 's  Macedonian  territories. 

But  the  monks'  day  is  over.  It  has  often  been 
said  that  the  Bulgarian  is  unfitted  for  the  monastic  life. 
And  it  is  a  fact  that  the  majority  of  the  monks  have 
been  Macedonians.  Their  day  is  over,  because  their 
work  has  been  done.    In  its  great  days  the  monastery 


276  CZAR  FERDINAND 

contained  from  three  to  four  hundred  monks.  At  the 
present  time  there  are  no  more  than  thirty  to  forty. 
In  the  past  many  industries  were  carried  on  by  the 
monks,  such  as  printing,  weaving,  carpentry,  wood- 
engraving,  wood-carving  (especially  for  religious  pur- 
poses), besides  agriculture.  Fugitives  from  Mace- 
donia no  longer  people  its  great  quadrangle  and  its 
hundreds  of  cells.  But  pilgrims  from  all  the  lands  of 
the  Southern  Slavs  visit  it  periodically,  in  the  glorious 
months  of  spring  and  summer,  to  worship  at  the 
shrine,  by  the  altar  of  its  Byzantine  church,  wherein 
rests  the  body  of  St.  Ivan  Rilsky.  And  travellers  of 
another  order  will  find  their  way  to  Mount  Rilo,  when 
the  grandeurs  of  the  Rhodope  are  made  more  acces- 
sible, by  roads  and  railways  and  better  accommoda- 
tion than  now  exists,  to  European  tourists.  The 
monastery  itself  might  very  easily  be  turned  to 
account,  in  aid  of  a  project  which  Czar  Ferdinand 
has  long  had  in  view,  not  for  the  Rhodope  alone,  but 
for  the  entire  country. 


XXXIII 

THE  CZAR  AND  BULGARIAN  LITERATURE 

Dr.  Adolph  Strausz,  the  distinguished  Slavic 
scholar,  wrote,  many  years  ago,  that  in  the  collection 
and  publication  of  the  folk-lays  and  legends  of  the 
Bulgars,  the  Ferdinandian  regime  had  raised  for 
itself  an  '  imperishable  monument.'  For  this  great 
achievement,  the  doctor  continued,  the  Bulgarian 
people  owe  Prince  Ferdinand  an  everlasting  debt  of 
gratitude.  He  made  the  remark  that  the  Prince  was 
a  thorough  Bulgarian.^  This  judgment  of  the  Vienna 
critic's  will  be  endorsed  by  every  educated  Slav  in 
Bulgaria  and  elsewhere.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  the 
Bulgarian  army  is  Czar  Ferdinand's  chief  achieve- 
ment. But,  in  truth,  the  creation  of  the  army  and 
the  flowering  of  Bulgarian  literature  and  education 
are  co-ordinate  aspects  of  the  national  evolution. 
You  cannot  separate  them.  Czar  Ferdinand,  from 
the  earliest  days  of  his  principate,  grasped  that  funda- 
mental fact.  It  occupied  many  of  his  studious  hours 
in  his  somewhat  sombre  palace  of  Sofia,  during  the 
agitated  years  of  Stambouloff's  administration.  The 
consciousness  of  a  national  unity,  and  of  a  great 

^  ' .  .  .  das  Aufzeichnen  der  Volkslieder  .  .  .  und  Lcgenden  .  .  ,  ein  un- 
vergangHches  Denkmal  fiir  die  hcutigc  nationalc  Regicrung  bilden  wird  ; 
und  deshalb  ist  das  bulgarische  Volk  seinem  von  echtem  bulgarischcn  Geist 
durchdrungcnen  Furstcn  Ferdinand  zu  ewige  Danke  verpflichtet '  (Strausz's 
Bulgarische  Volksdichtungen,  '895). 

277 


278  CZAR  FERDINAND 

destiny  for  the  Bulgarian  race,  may  be  said  to  have 
reached  its  mature  stage  with  the  publication  of  the 
first  instalment  of  heroic  lays,  legends,  lyrical  pieces, 
collected  and  edited,  in  the  last  years  of  the  nine- 
teenth and  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  by 
Dr.  Ivan  Schishmanoff,  one  of  the  foremost  Bul- 
garian men  of  letters,  and  an  educational  pioneer  and 
authority  of  the  first  rank.  The  Department  of 
Public  Instruction,  over  which  Dr.  Schishmanoff  has 
presided,  does  not  confine  itself  to  the  ordinary 
routine  of  primary  and  secondary  schools,  and  of  the 
university.  Its  periodical  issues  of  literary  and  scien- 
tific circulars,  pamphlets,  and  reviews  are  designed  for 
*  public  instruction '  in  the  widest  sense  of  the 
expression  :  their  value  as  a  means  of  intellectual 
elevation  and  expansion  is  unmistakable.  In  her 
organisation  of  the  Department  of  Public  Instruction 
Bulgaria  is  an  example  to  nations  richer,  larger,  and 
more  advanced. 

Czar  Ferdinand's  interest  in  the  literary  expansion 
of  Bulgaria  is,  in  the  first  place,  historical,  political, 
and  ethnical.  Himself  a  master  of  rustic  dialect  as 
well  as  of  literary  Bulgarian,  Czar  Ferdinand  takes  a 
keen  interest  in  the  philological  researches  of  the 
department,  which  reveal  the  extraordinarily  large 
number  of  linguistic  variations  in  his  dominions.  He 
was  prompt  to  realise  the  great  value  of  the  folk-songs 
as  a  demonstration  of  the  fact,  constantly  denied  by 
Greeks  and  Turks,  that  the  bulk  of  the  Macedonian 
population  was  Bulgar.    To  Czar  Ferdinand,  as  well 


CZAR  AND  BULGARIAN  LITERATURE    279 

as  to  the  experts  who  have  devoted  their  lives  to  the 
subject,  the  lays  and  legends  of  the  Turkish  epoch 
are,  even  as  history,  priceless.  A  close  student  of  the 
literary  movement,  and  keenly  alive  to  its  significance 
in  the  upbuilding  of  his  new  kingdom,  he  gives  it  his 
unremitting  and  enthusiastic  encouragement. 

Czar  Ferdinand  has  been  heard  to  say  that  he 
regarded  the  Miladinov  brothers  as  two  of  the  fore- 
most makers  of  modern  Bulgaria.  The  Miladinov 
brothers  were  collectors  and  editors  of  the  songs  and 
tales  that  had  passed,  orally,  from  generation  to 
generation  in  their  native  Macedonia.  They  were 
also  schoolmasters.  Their  first  collection  was  printed 
and  published  in  1861,  Czar  Ferdinand's  birth  year. 
The  most  important  production  of  the  kind  up  to 
that  date,  its  appearance  marked  an  epoch  in  the 
literary  history  of  the  Southern  Slavs.  In  order  that 
the  reader  may  appreciate  its  importance,  a  brief 
statement  of  previous  efforts  of  the  like  kind  may  here 
be  made.  Until  the  earliest  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  the  only  songs  and  legends  of  the  Southern 
Slavs  known  in  Europe  were  the  Servian,  then 
published  for  the  first  time.  The  mere  fact  of 
geographical  proximity  gave  the  Serbs  the  first 
European  hearing.  The  first  Bulgarian  examples, 
collected  from  the  peasants  by  Karadjich,  appeared 
in  1815.  Bogorov's,  Grigorov's,  Jovanovic's  publica- 
tions appeared  respectively  in  1842,  1845,  1851. 
Four  years  later,  Slaveikoff,  the  earliest  and  greatest 
poet  of  modern  Bulgaria,  published  his  selection  of 


28o  CZAR  FERDINAND 

folk-songs.  About  the  same  date  there  appeared 
Beszonov's  Bulgar  SongSy  a  more  comprehensive 
work  than  any  preceding  one.  Verkovich's  edition, 
in  i860,  was  especially  valuable  as  a  record  of  the 
spirit  of  the  Macedonian  Bulgars,  whose  kinship  with 
the  Bulgars  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rhodope  barrier 
was  always  denied  by  the  Macedonian  Greeks.  In 
the  following  year  appeared  the  Miladinov  edition 
already  named.  It  is  significant  of  the  obscurity 
which  then  enveloped  the  country  soon  to  be  estab- 
lished as  an  independent  nation,  and  of  the  Graeco- 
Turkish  opposition  to  any  manifestation  of  the  spirit 
of  Bulgarian  nationality,  that  all  the  works  above 
named  were  published  abroad,  some  in  Moscow, 
others  in  St.  Petersburg,  Belgrade,  Agram, 
Bucharest.  The  pashas  and  the  Greek  bishops  would 
not  tolerate  any  printing  of  them  in  the  Christian 
provinces  of  European  Turkey.  Verkovich's  edition 
was  published  at  the  expense  of  the  Princess  Julia, 
wife  of  Michael  Obrenovitch,  Prince  of  Servia.  The 
Miladinov  edition,  published  at  Agram,  would  have 
been  indefinitely  delayed,  but  for  the  generosity  and 
the  literary  and  historical  acumen  of  Bishop  Stross- 
mayer,  who  brought  it  out  at  his  own  expense. 

The  reader  will  now  understand  the  reason  of 
Czar  Ferdinand's  high  estimate  of  the  brothers 
Dimitri  and  Constantine  Miladinov,  folklorists  and 
village  teachers,  in  the  rank  of  Bulgarian  heroes. 
Their  pathetically  tragic  story  is  well  summarised  in 
Dr.  Adolf  Strausz*s  work  already  named  {Bulgarische 


CZAR  AND  BULGARIAN  LITERATURE    281 

Volksdichtungen).    It  was  the  patriotic  spirit  of  their 
work  that  led  them  to  their  untimely  fate.    Their 
literary  researches  among  the  country-people  opened 
their  eyes,  as  nothing  else  had  done,  to  the  ethnic 
unity  of  the  numerically  dominant  population  north 
of  the  Rhodope  barrier  with  that  to  the  south  of  it. 
Union  in  the  cause  of  freedom  was  the  gospel  they 
thenceforth  preached.    But  in  the  eyes  of  the  Greeks, 
who  always  looked  upon  Macedonia  as  their  own  by 
culture,  by  race,  and  by  right  of  inheritance  as  soon 
as   the    Turk's    rule   should    cease,   the   Miladinov 
propaganda  was  an  offence  to  be  suppressed  at  all 
hazards.    The  beautiful  district  of  Ochrida,  in  South- 
western Macedonia,  was  the  Miladinovs'  birthplace. 
Its  inhabitants  were  nearly  all  Bulgarian.    But  after 
centuries    of   spiritual    oppression   by   the   Greeks, 
*  their  national  consciousness  was  well-nigh  extinct.* 
Dimitri    Miladinov,    who    remained    in    Macedonia 
while  his  brother  Constantine  studied  at  Moscow 
University,  fought  single-handed  against  this  spiritual 
despotism.    As  a  school-teacher  in  the  chief  Mace- 
donian towns — Salonika,  Monastir,  Prilip — Dimitri 
taught  his  pupils  their  country's  history,  a  subject 
utterly  travestied  by  their  Greek  pastors  and  masters. 
He  had  the  boldness  to  supersede  the  Greek  liturgy 
by  the  Slavic.     To  the  Greek  clergy  this  was  the 
unpardonable    sin.    The    political    significance    of 
ecclesiastical  organisation  in  European  Turkey  has 
already  been  set  forth  in  this  volume.    The  Greek 
Metropolitan  had  his  revenge.    At  his  instigation, 


282  CZAR  FERDINAND 

the  Turks  arrested  Dimitri  in  his  native  town  and 
sent  him  a  prisoner  to  Constantinople.  According  to 
one  of  the  charges  trumped  up  against  him,  Dimitri 
was  a  Russian  spy  engaged  in  planning  a  rebellion 
in  the  Turkish  provinces.  The  only  explanation  of 
this  charge  was  his  brother's  recent  residence  at 
Moscow  University.  Nor  was  it  rebellion  against 
the  Sultan  that  Dimitri  was  contemplating  at  this 
stage  of  his  career  ;  it  was  rebellion  against  the 
spiritual  despotism  of  the  Patriarch  of  the  Greek 
Orthodox  Church. 

Hearing  of  his  brother's  imprisonment,  Con- 
stantine  hurried  from  Agram,  where  he  was  employed 
in  his  literary  work,  to  Constantinople,  in  order  to 
effect  his  brother's  release.  There  he  too  was 
imprisoned.  The  Austrian  and  Russian  ambassa- 
sadors  urged  the  Porte  to  release  the  brothers.  The 
Porte  consented,  but  before  the  receipt  of  the  decree 
for  their  liberation,  the  brothers  were  found  dead 
on  their  prison  floor.  The  Phanariotes — so  named 
from  the  Greek  quarter  of  Constantinople,  where  the 
Greek  Patriarch  resided — had  bribed  the  prison 
warders. 

No  estimate  of  Czar  Ferdinand's  diplomacy  in 
Graeco-Slav  affairs  can  be  adequate  which  overlooks 
the  secular  hostility  of  the  Phanar  towards  the 
Macedonian  Bulgarians.  It  is  the  fact  that  in  many 
respects  the  Greeks  were,  as  enemies  of  the  Bulgars, 
more  implacable  than  the  Turks.  The  Turk  des- 
pised  the    Bulgar.    The    Greek   had   a   downright 


CZAR  AND  BULGARIAN  LITERATURE    283 

loathing  for  him,  and  for  centuries  could  deal  with 
him  in  spiritual  matters  (which,  however,  affected 
him  in  worldly  affairs)  pretty  much  as  he  pleased  ; 
for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Turk,  lumping  together  all 
denominations  of  the  Christian  *  herd,'  consigned 
them  to  the  care  of  the  head  of  the  historic  Church. 
Abdul  Hamid,  in  the  last  years  of  his  sanguinary 
reign,  took  advantage  of  this  traditional  hostility, 
and  goaded  both  sides  against  each  other,  making 
it  appear  as  if  each  of  them  aimed  at  undivided 
possession  of  Macedonia.  It  was  for  this  reason 
that  so  many  Greeks,  during  the  rising  of  1903, 
clamoured  for  support  of  the  Turk  against  his  victims. 
But  the  temper  of  *  the  Phanar  '  in  mid-nineteenth 
century  was  not  that  of  the  gallant  Greeks  who  in 
alliance  with  their  Serb,  Bulgar,  and  Montenegrin 
neighbours  have  expelled  the  common  foe.  It  is 
not  long  since  the  Bulgarians  claimed  Salonika  for 
their  own.  But  few  educated  Bulgarians  would  now 
grudge  the  Greeks  their  possession  of  that  gem  of 
the  iEgean,  or  repress  a  feeling  of  profound  satisfac- 
tion at  the  prospect  of  the  prosperity  awaiting  the 
historic  city,  restored  to  the  Hellenic  race.  In 
attempting  to  establish,  for  the  first  time  in  history, 
feelings  of  friendship  between  Greeks  and  Bulgars, 
a  partnership  between  them  for  the  advance  of 
civilisation.  Czar  Ferdinand  has  won  the  esteem 
of  the  most  intelligent  men  among  both  nations. 
Historic  considerations,  besides  the  actual  facts  of 
the  day,  have  to  be  taken  into  account  in  the  partition 


284  CZAR  FERDINAND 

of  Macedonia.  Czar  Ferdinand  and  the  men  of 
letters  whom  he  has  encouraged  have,  on  their  side, 
done  much  to  elucidate  them  and  give  them  due 
weight. 

No  Prussian  statesman  has  ever  held  more  firmly 
than  Czar  Ferdinand  has  done  to  the  moral,  that  the 
most  formidable  of  armed  nations  is  an  educated 
nation — meaning  by  that,  not  a  mob  of  people  who 
can  read  and  count  and  sign  their  names,  but  an 
organised  whole,  inspired  by  a  high  national  ideal, 
intelligently  appreciating  its  past  and  its  responsi- 
bilities in  the  world,  ready  for  sacrifice  in  a  just  cause. 
Every  name,  however  humble,  in  the  story  of  the 
intellectual  renaissance  of  the  Bulgarian  people  has 
for  Czar  Ferdinand  a  sacred  interest.  The  names 
of  Monk  Paissy  of  Rilo  monastery;  the  Neo- 
phyte Rilsky,  for  many  years  the  head  of  the  same 
foundation  ;  Alexander  Levsky,  hanged  by  the  Turks 
in  1873  on  a  spot  not  far  from  the  Czar's  palace  in 
Sofia  ;  Solokov,  the  friend  of  the  Miladinovs  already 
named,  were  perhaps  as  interesting  to  Prince 
Ferdinand  as  the  name  of  the  patron  saint  him- 
self. All  of  them,  at  some  period  of  their  lives,  were 
school-teachers.  And  some  of  them  were  teacher, 
priest,  and  fighter  combined.  '  Za  Viera ' — *  For  the 
Faith ' — ^was  young  Levsky 's  defiant  shout  when  the 
Turks,  having  captured  him,  called  him  a  Christian 
dog.  It  is  Czar  Ferdinand's  wish  that  every  Bulgarian 
boy  and  girl  should  be  told  at  school  the  history  of 
every  man  who  has  fought  for  the  emancipation  of  the 


CZAR  AND  BULGARIAN  LITERATURE    285 

race.  Monk  Paissy's  History  of  the  Bulgars,  a  very 
elementary  production,  has  long  been  superseded  in 
the  Bulgarian  schools,  but  its  author's  name  endures. 
It  was  Pai'ssy,  in  his  solitary  cell  at  Mount  Athos,  and 
next  on  Mount  Rilo,  who  inaugurated  the  literary  and 
educational  movement  of  modern  Bulgaria.  Chilen- 
dar  convent,  his  abode  at  Mount  Athos,  was  a  Bul- 
garian establishment  subordinate  to  the  great  settle- 
ment on  Mount  Rilo.  But  the  intellectual  awakening 
of  the  Bulgarians  was  a  slow,  difficult  process — owing 
chiefly  to  the  Phanariote  hostility  already  described. 
Paissy's  modest  but  epoch-making  book  appeared  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  A  summary 
record  of  the  origin  and  heroic  characters  of  the 
Bulgarian  race,  it  was  even  read  in  the  churches. 

In  a  most  interesting  report  to  Czar  Ferdinand,  by 
Dr.  Schishmanoff,  on  the  educational  organisation  of 
the  country,  the  author  shows  how  the  movement 
originated  by  Paissy  developed  into  two  parallel 
currents — one  revolutionary  and  political,  the  other 
pacific  and  literary.  The  first,  by  assailing  the  Phan- 
ariote ecclesiastical  hegemony,  led  straight  to  the 
religious  autonomy  that  finally  ended  in  political 
autonomy :  the  cry, '  Za  Viera,' — *  For  the  Faith  * — had 
a  political  meaning.  The  second,  by  developing 
education,  in  the  more  comprehensive  sense  of  the 
word,  inflamed  in  the  end  the  patriotic  ardour  which 
resulted  in  the  birth  of  a  free  state  and  the  multiform 
expression  of  the  national  genius. 

Already  there  has  been  some  talk  of  proposing  to 


286  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Czar  Ferdinand  that  a  memorial  to  the  continuator  of 
Paissy's  work  should  be  erected  at  Bansko  in  North- 
Eastern  Macedonia.  Bansko  was  Neophyte  Rilsky*s 
birthplace.  He  was  born  in  1793.  Bansko,  the 
largest  village  in  the  north-east,  was  a  comitaji  centre 
during  the  insurrection  of  1903.  Neophyte  Rilsky 
was  the  greatest  of  the  monastic  superiors.  He 
*  entered  religion  '  at  Rilo,  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  He 
was  an  ardent  scholar.  After  some  years  of  study  in 
foreign  countries,  during  which  he  made  himself 
familiar  with  the  educational  systems  that  had  sprung 
from  Rousseau's  teachings,  he  returned  to  Bulgaria, 
and  did  the  best  thing  a  patriot  then  could  do — he 
opened  a  school.  He  was  the  first  to  adopt  the  teach- 
ing methods  of  Western  reformers.  His  best  pupils 
became  in  after- time  teachers,  following  his  system, 
and  propagating  his  patriotic  ideas.  Even  at  this  late 
period,  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a  Bul- 
garian teacher  in  the  towns  had  to  remind  those 
classes  of  the  community  that  might  have  been  the 
most  helpful  to  him,  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  a 
Bulgarian  language  worth  cultivating.  As  has  been 
pointed  out  in  an  earlier  page  of  this  volume,  Bul- 
garians of  the  well-to-do  classes  spoke  Greek  in  pre- 
ference to  their  mother- tongue,  which  they  affected 
to  despise.  These  were  the  people  who  some  years 
later  drew  from  young  Stambouloff,  in  his  dark 
moods,  the  cry  that  Bulgaria  was  *  dead.'  In  the 
country  districts  the  situation  was  different.  Bul- 
garian grammars  and  dictionaries  were  sorely  needed 


CZAR  AND  BULGARIAN  LITERATURE    287 

in  Neophyte  Rilsky's  time,  and  his  own  achievement 
as  a  compiler  in  that  kind  of  work  was  a  national 
service.  It  might  be  said  of  a  Bulgarian  priest,  monk, 
or  daskal  (teacher)  in  the  Turkish  age  that,  if  he  had 
taken  no  part  in  carnal  warfare  against  the  foe,  he 
could  not  consider  his  vocation  fulfilled.  Abbot 
Natanael,  in  Vazoff's  great  Bulgarian  novel.  Under 
the  Yoke,  is  a  valorous  fighter,  with  a  good  aim  at 
'  those  brutes,*  as  he  quite  rightly  calls  the  Turks. 
The  abbot's  cell  is  an  armoury.  It  is  not  known  if 
the  Neophyte  Rilsky  ever  fought  in  person.  But  as 
a  protector  of  the  comitaji  bands  that  so  often  took 
refuge,  and  found  their  supplies  of  provisions  and 
ammunition  in  Rilo  monastery,  he  did  great  service 
to  the  liberators  of  1877-8.  Dying  in  188 1 ,  at  the  age 
of  eighty- eight,  Neophyte  Rilsky  had  the  consolation 
of  witnessing  the  partial  realisation  of  his  dream  of 
national  independence. 


XXXIV 

COURT  ETIQUETTE 

Among  the  many  anecdotes  current  in  the  Red  Crab 
concerning  Czar  Ferdinand  at  home,  and  the  eti- 
quette of  the  Court,  is  that  of  a  village  schoolmaster, 
who  at  a  grand  levee  in  the  palace  upset  the  con- 
ventions, and  with  them  the  equanimity  of  the 
guards,  valets,  masters  of  ceremonies,  et  hoc  genus 
otnne.  The  Red  Crab  is  the  chief  restaurant  and  tea- 
garden  of  Sofia,  where  *  the  town  '  is  accustomed  to 
congregate  of  an  evening,  to  dine,  smoke,  drink, 
gossip,  and  hear  music.  On  the  evening  of  the  levee, 
when  the  vestibule,  salons,  and  galleries  of  the  palace 
were  crowded  with  military  officers  and  officers  of  the 
household  in  full  uniform,  ladies  in  the  latest  Parisian 
fashions,  and  ordinary  males  in  their  correct  evening 
attire,  a  countryman  in  baggy  brown  trousers  and 
short  jacket  appeared  at  the  entrance.  He  was 
stopped.  But  he  pushed  through.  He  was  stopped 
again  before  the  grand  salon.  On  no  account  must 
he  be  admitted.  The  gorgeously  clad  attendants 
would,  quite  politely,  reconduct  him  to  the  palace 
gates.  But  he  insisted  on  presenting  himself  ;  there 
could  be  no  '  mistake  ' ;  he  had  been  invited.  So 
there  was  a  scene.  The  prince,  his  attention  being 
arrested  by  the  noise,  and  having  walked  up  to  the 
spot,  recognised  a  village  teacher  whom  he  had  met 


COURT  ETIQUETTE  289 

some  time  before  in  one  of  his  country  rambles,  and 
whom  he  had  invited  to  visit  him  at  the  palace.  The 
Prince  at  once  shook  hands  heartily  with  his  visitor, 
led  him  within,  and  took  him  for  a  walk  and  a  chat 
through  the  brilliant  assemblage  and  about  the  salons. 
Had  the  village  teacher  called  on  any  ordinary  occa- 
sion and  asked  for  a  private  audience  he  would  doubt- 
less have  received  it.  Many  such  stories  are,  as  we 
have  said,  told  in  the  Red  Crab.  I  myself  have  been 
told  how  the  Prince,  in  his  solitary  rambles  in  country 
places,  has  helped  a  waggoner  over  a  rough  bit  of  road, 
or  a  peasant  woman  with  her  burden.  Such  anec- 
dotes are  perhaps  embellished.  But  they  are  founded 
on  fact,  and  they  reveal  a  homely  trait  in  the  character 
of  a  ruler  so  exacting  on  the  point  of  etiquette  and 
usually  so  distant  in  manner.  But  to  the  lowly, 
laborious  workers  of  his  kingdom — and  these  consti- 
tute the  vast  majority — Czar  Ferdinand  never  is  the 
unapproachable  sovereign. 

Czar  Ferdinand  is  exacting  on  the  point  of  court 
ceremonial,  though,  as  his  ministers  say,  he  is  less  so 
at  the  age  of  fifty- two  than  he  was  in  his  thirties.  It 
may  be  he  considers  that  the  rustic  democracy  which 
he  came  to  rule  twenty-six  years  ago  has  learnt  its 
lesson  in  the  pomp  and  the  ritual  of  courts.  No 
European  monarch  has  a  firmer  faith  in  the  efficacy 
of  a  brilliant,  elaborately  organised  court  for  the  en- 
hancement of  the  royal  prestige.  Many  of  the  Czar's 
visitors,  as  familiar  as  he  is  himself  with  the  showy 
side  of  the  kingly  metier,  have  said  that  King  Fer- 


290  CZAR  FERDINAND 

dinand's  court  is  as  punctiliously  ordered  and  decor- 
ative as  any  in  Europe.  In  the  contrast  between  the 
elaborate  brilliance  of  the  Bulgarian  court  and  the 
rude  simplicity  of  the  nation  of  small  farmers  and 
labourers  there  is  an  element  of  the  comic,  but  less 
obvious  now,  perhaps,  than  in  the  earlier  years  of  the 
Czar's  reign.  A  middle  class  is  in  process  of  evo- 
lution. In  a  generation  or  two  rustic,  democratic 
Bulgaria  may  evolve  a  true  blue  aristocracy  to  replace 
the  ancient  one  which  the  Turks  either  wiped  out  or 
converted  to  Islam.  Besides,  the  Bulgarian  kingdom 
has  been  enlarged  since  October  191 2.  Its  prestige 
has  been  increased  to  a  degree  even  more  than  com- 
mensurate with  its  territorial  acquisitions.  So  that 
the  pomp  and  ceremony  of  the  Sofiote  palace  is  not 
likely  to  be  diminished. 

But  *  Ferdinand  de  Bulgarie,  intime  *  is,  however, 
a  subject  upon  which  but  few,  save  members  of  the 
King's  household,  can  speak  except  in  the  vaguest 
terms.  By  far  the  best  and  most  interesting  authority 
on  the  subject  is  the  French  writer  already  named, 
M.  Hepp,  who  has  had  the  privilege  so  many  years 
of  close  acquaintance  with  the  Czar,  both  in  the 
palace  and  in  holiday  excursions.  One  cannot  do 
better  than  take  M.  Hepp  for  one's  principal  guide. 
According  to  M.  Hepp,  the  elaboration  of  court  life 
in  Sofia  began  with  Prince  Ferdinand's  marriage  with 
the  Princess  Marie  Louise.  This  was,  as  already 
recorded-  in  1893,  six  years  after  the  Prince's  acces- 
sion to  the  throne.    The  commonplace,  one-storeyed. 


COURT  ETIQUETTE  291 

rambling  Turkish  mansion,  by  courtesy  called  a 
palace,  to  which  the  new  ruler  was  introduced  might 
suffice  for  the  needs  of  a  bachelor  Prince — especially 
a  Prince  possessed  of  so  many  delightful  retreats  in 
Hungary,  Austria,  and  the  Rhodope  Mountains  to  go 
to.  Partly  an  adaptation  of  the  Turk  building,  and 
to  a  larger  extent  a  new  construction,  the  existing 
palace  of  Sofia  was  built  and  decorated  to  its  minutest 
detail  after  the  Prince's  own  plans.  In  its  *  fastidious 
elegance,'  it  has  been  said,  the  palace  is  an  expression 
of  its  royal  tenant.  Of  course,  the  most  impeccably 
elegant  person  in  it  is  the  King  himself.  The  unso- 
phisticated labourers  and  shepherds  of  the  interior, 
among  whom  their  Czar,  dressed  in  rustic  Bulgar 
garb,  has  often  sauntered,  and  whom  he  has  gossiped 
with  in  their  own  patois — about  their  pigs  and  poultry, 
and  their  crops,  and  the  village  school — would  be 
dumbfounded  by  his  Olympian  air  and  magnificent 
apparel  in  Sofia  palace  on  occasions  of  state  cere- 
mony. Czar  Ferdinand  is  master  of  the  art  of  mise 
en  scene.  All  the  elaborate  ceremonial  with  which  he 
has  surrounded  himself  is  an  expression  of  his  lofty 
conception  of  his  role  as  a  king — an  assertion  of  his 
prestige. 

The  royal  court  of  this  *  rural  democracy,'  as  the 
Bulgar  nation  has  been  described  by  one  of  its 
historians,  has  its  marshals,  its  grand  almoners,  its 
chamberlains,  its  commandants  of  the  palace,  its 
chancellors  of  orders  and  decorations,  its  dames  and 
maids  of  honour,  its  attaches,  equerries,  councillors, 


292  CZAR  FERDINAND 

readers,  its  masters  of  ceremonies,  besides  physicians 
and  secretaries,  etc.  etc.  The  Easter  Festival,  St. 
George's  Day,  family  birthdays,  the  feast  of  St. 
Nicolas  (the  Russian  Emperor's  also)  are  celebrated  in 
the  palace  with  great  eclat,  the  King  appearing  at  some 
of  them  in  a  gorgeous  mantle  specially  designed. 
Another  glimpse  of  life  in  the  palace,  given  by  privi- 
leged guests,  is  that  of  the  reception  of  members  of 
the  various  orders  founded  by  Prince  Alexander  and 
his  successor.  The  St.  Nicolas  celebration  is  especi- 
ally interesting,  associated  as  it  is  with  the  reigning 
descendant  of  the  Czar  to  whom,  to  quote  King 
Ferdinand,  '  Bulgaria  owes  her  freedom.'  Readers 
who  may  not  care  two  straws  for  such  details  as  the 
foregoing  will  be  touched  by  Czar  Ferdinand's  way 
of  celebrating  the  memory  of  a  faithful  member  of 
the  household  no  longer  in  the  land  of  the  living. 
Such,  for  example,  as  Count  de  Grenaud,  the  first 
marshal  of  the  palace,  the  same  intimate  friend  who 
accompanied  the  Prince  from  Vienna  to  Tirnovo 
when  the  Prince  had  made  up  his  mind  to  '  take  the 
risks.'  M.  Hepp  says  that  the  room  in  which  Count 
de  Grenaud  died  has  been  preserved  by  Czar  Fer- 
dinand as  a  memorial  chapel,  and  that  on  the  anni- 
versary of  his  death  Mass  is  celebrated  in  it,  with  the 
King  in  attendance.  As  an  indication  of  Czar 
Ferdinand's  character  that  touching  mark  of  remem- 
brance is  worth  all  that  pomp  and  show  of  the  regal 
state.  For  the  remembrance  endures,  whereas  the 
pomp  and  show  are  designed  for  occasions,  so  that 


COURT  ETIQUETTE  293 

when  they  are  done  with  Czar  Ferdinand  becomes 
the  '  good  Bulgarian  '  in  his  most  affable  mood, 
simple,  unaffected,  witty  in  his  talk,  and  loving  a  good 
story.  A  letter  written  to  a  friend  by  Count  de 
Grenaud  from  Switzerland,  after  the  Prince  had 
invited  him  to  accompany  him  to  Bulgaria  in  the 
capacity  of  Chief  of  the  Household,  is  reproduced  by 
M.  Hepp.  Written  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago, 
events  since  then  give  it  a  peculiar  interest.  '  I  have 
accepted,'  the  Count  writes,  *  the  great  honour  of 
accompanying  this  Prince  Charming  to  the  conquest 
of  his  new  kingdom.  His  mother  and  himself  have 
enchanted  me.  My  new  Master  is  twenty-six  years 
old.  He  has  the  finest  blue  eyes  you  ever  saw.  He 
has  Francis  the  First's  big  nose.  He  has  wit,  good 
nature,  and  acuteness  in  abundance.  If  he  reigns,  he 
will  do  it,  if  I  'm  not  greatly  mistaken,  in  Henry  iv. 
fashion.  Meanwhile,  in  our  future  dominions,  people 
are  locking  up  each  other,  assassinating  each  other. 
I  wonder  if  we  shall  reach  Bulgaria  safe  and  sound.* 
The  prospects  were,  indeed,  the  reverse  of  cheerful 
when  young  Prince  Ferdinand  '  took  the  risks.'  So, 
it  seems,  did  Count  de  Grenaud.  He  would,  one 
thinks,  have  gazed  with  a  look  of  incredulity  at  any 
prophet  who  should  tell  him  that  in  less  than  twenty- 
five  years  Prince  Ferdinand  would  be  master  of 
Adrianople  and  King  of  Greater  Bulgaria. 

But  besides  the  elaborately  ceremonial  observances 
above  mentioned  there  are  receptions  of  a  less  formal 
character — '  At  Homes,'  so  to  speak — at  which  men 


294  CZAR  FERDINAND 

and  women  who  are  in  any  way  doing  useful  service 
in  the  community  have  an  opportunity  of  personal 
intercourse  with  their  King  and  Queen.  The  edu- 
cative, the  social,  value  of  these  receptions  is  well 
appreciated  by  the  public.  Politicians  of  all  parties 
meet  there  simply  as  citizens,  *  good  Bulgarians.' 
Conservatives,  Radicals,  Liberals  (names,  by  the 
way,  which  do  not  mean  exactly  what  they  do  in 
England)  meet  there  on  an  equal  footing.  Czar 
Ferdinand  makes  no  distinction  between  them.  A 
*  Stamboulovist,*  no  less  than  a  Russophile  Conser- 
vative, finds  in  the  Czar  the  most  genial  of  hosts. 
But,  in  fact,  the  name  *  Stamboulovist '  has  lost  its 
signification  of  eighteen  years  ago.  The  adoption 
of  the  name  Neo- Stamboulovist  indicated  an  aban- 
donment of  the  old  irreconcilable  attitude  towards 
Russia  for  a  judicious  rapprochement  with  the  Power 
to  which,  after  all,  Bulgaria  owed  her  freedom. 
So  that  there  is  but  a  narrow  margin  of  diflference 
between  members  of  the  party  and  the  moderate 
Conservatives.  A  hard  worker  from  early  morning 
until  midnight — or  even  later — and  compelled  to 
economise  his  time.  Czar  Ferdinand  finds  in  these 
receptions  a  source  of  direct  information  on  parlia- 
mentary, administrative,  and  public  affairs  generally. 
His  words  are  few,  but  prompt  and  searching.  His 
intuition,  his  comprehensive  grasp  of  a  political 
situation  are  admired  by  those  who  know  him  best, 
his  ministers.  At  these  receptions  certain  formalities 
that  hedge  in  the  sacrosanct  persons  of  continental 


COURT  ETIQUETTE  295 

potentates  are  dispensed  with.  No  guards  intervene 
between  the  Czar  and  his  subjects.  He  moves  about 
the  crowd  in  his  character  of  '  first  Bulgarian  *  in  the 
land.  These  receptions  are  occasions  for  cultivating 
the  social  amenities.  And  the  people  of  Sofia  are 
not  slow  to  admit  the  effect  they  have  had  in  that 
respect  since  their  inception  in  the  time  of  Princess 
Marie  Louise.  In  Sofia  le  bon  ton  is  making  progress. 
The  Bulgarian  manner  is  like  unto  the  Bulgarian 
native  wine  that,  sound,  and  with  '  body  '  in  it, 
mellows  with  time  and  judicious  treatment. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign  many  of  his 
subjects  were  disposed  to  question  Prince  Ferdinand's 
claim  to  his  own  designation  of  a  *  good  Bulgarian.' 
They  accused  him  of  being  far  too  much  of  a  good 
Frenchman.  This  sentimental  grievance,  such  as  it 
was,  has  long  since  vanished.  It  was  a  townspeople's 
grievance.  The  Sofiotes  used  to  complain  at  his  pass- 
ing by  the  town,  to  or  from  his  Austrian  estates  and 
Euxinograd  or  some  retreat  in  the  Rhodope,  '  with- 
out deigning  to  cast  a  look  at  us  through  his  carriage 
window.'  *  He  despises  Sofia,'  I  have  heard 
grumblers  say  in  the  Red  Crab.  But  the  country- 
people  never  bore  any  such  grudge,  as  the  above 
named,  against  their  '  King,'  as  they  used  to  call  him 
even  in  the  days  of  the  Principate.  For  them  the 
King  was  a  gentleman  farmer,  knowing  everything 
about  agriculture,  tobacco-growing,  wine-growing, 
the  state  of  the  markets,  and  most  pleasant  to  gossip 
with.    Every  village  on  the  railway  line  or  country 


296  CZAR  FERDINAND 

road  along  which  the  King  was  known  to  be  coming 
would  turn  out  its  crowd  of  people,  reinforced  from 
every  quarter  of  the  district,  to  salute  him.  If  there 
was  no  time  for  a  halt,  Czar  Ferdinand,  bareheaded, 
would  lean  out  of  the  window  or  over  the  rail  of  his 
carriage  platform,  and  in  military  fashion  return 
their  salute  and  then  repeatedly  wave  his  hand, 
looking  back  at  them  as  they  receded  in  the  distance. 
In  an  automobile  journey  across  country  he  would 
stop  to  watch  or  chat  with  labourers  at  work  in  the 
fields,  or  at  some  hamlet,  where  the  daskal  (teacher) 
took  care  to  have  his  young  folk  ranged  up  in  front 
of  the  seniors.  A  pathetic  love  for  childhood  is  one 
of  the  most  distinctive  traits  of  Czar  Ferdinand's 
character. 

Instead  of  making  his  loyalty  to  his  French 
traditions  and  ancestral  memories  a  grievance  against 
Czar  Ferdinand,  his  people  have  recognised  in  it 
a  claim  to  their  admiration,  and  one  of  the  finest 
traits  in  his  character.  They  might  have  some 
reason  for  regret  nowadays  were  he  instead  of  '  a 
Frenchman '  an  Austrian  !  The  Bulgarians  of  to- 
day are  grateful  to  Czar  Ferdinand  for  what  he  has 
done  and  is  doing  in  the  propagation  of  French 
culture  in  Bulgaria.  The  Bulgarian  mind  will 
assimilate  what  it  needs  of  it,  and  no  more.  Even 
during  Prince  Alexander's  reign,  for  one  Bulgarian 
youth  who  went  to  any  German  country  for  his 
education  in  science  and  the  humanities,  ten  went 
to  France.     So  it  could  hardly  be  said  that  Prince 


BULGARIAN    COUNTKV    GIRI-S    AND   CHILURKN 


COURT  ETIQUETTE  297 

Ferdinand,  with  all  his  passionate  worship  of  France, 
went  out  of  his  way  to  Frenchify  his  Slavic  kingdom. 
British    people    imagine    that  theirs  is  the  foreign 
nation  which  the  Bulgarians  especially  love,  and  for 
which  they  have  a  feeling  of  gratitude.    They  are 
mistaken.    The  foreign  people  whom  the  Bulgarians 
love   are   the   French.    The  foreign  language  they 
chiefly  cultivate  is  the  French.    The  Bulgarian  feel- 
ing  for  the  British   sprang   from   Mr.   Gladstone's 
denunciations  of  the  perpetrators  of  '  the  Bulgarian 
atrocities  ' — crimes  which,  frightful  though  they  were, 
had  many  a  time  been  surpassed  in  other  quarters  of 
the  Turkish  Empire.     In  their  traditional  sacrifice 
of   the    Christian    nations    of   Turkish    Europe    to 
British  *  interests,'  in  their  protection  of  the  brutal, 
incurable  Turk,  British  diplomatists  were  as  callously 
selfish  as  the  statesmen  of  Vienna.     Nor  can  it  be 
said  that,  apart  from  her  own  spontaneous  move- 
ment, Bulgaria  derived  from  Britain  any  help  in  her 
eflFort  for  freedom.    The  only  foreign  inspiration  was 
the  '  ray ' — as   Dr.  SchishmanofT  in   his   admirable 
Report  on  Education  to  Czar  Ferdinand  expressed 
it — the  '  ray  from  the  light  of  the  French  Revolution.' 
And  there  is  another  matter  which  the  people  of 
Bulgaria  have  not  forgotten — the  French  Govern- 
ment's unobtrusive  but  not  ineffectual  advocacy  of 
reconciliation  between  Russia  and  Bulgaria,  at  a  time 
when  Russian  ministers  repelled  every  advance  from 
Sofia.     So  his  subjects  have  long  since  recognised 
that   Czar   Ferdinand  is  perhaps  all  the  more  of  a 


298  CZAR  FERDINAND 

'good  Bulgarian'  because  he  is  so  good  a  Frenchman. 
It  is  possible  they  might  derive  satisfaction  from  the 
fact  that  in  his  early  travels  through  Germany  this  son 
of  a  German  prince,  born  and  brought  up  in  and 
about  Vienna,  spoke  by  preference  the  language  of 
his  maternal  ancestors.  Among  the  numberless  sou- 
venirs and  artistic  knicknacks  of  various  kinds  in  the 
Czar's  private  apartments  is  a  little  toy  cart,  wrought 
in  silver,  and  laden  with  a  mixture  of  French  and  Bul- 
garian earth.  What  more  in  the  way  of  symbolism 
could  any  stalwart  Bulgar  desire  ?  Czar  Ferdinand's 
principal  biographer  relates  how  on  a  certain  occa- 
sion the  Prince  celebrated  the  French  national  fete 
of  the  14th  July,  the  anniversary  of  the  capture  of 
the  Bastille.  The  Prince  invited  a  few  friends — 
Frenchmen  among  them — to  an  open-air  dinner  in 
Vitosh  forest,  hard  by  Sofia,  as  if  to  an  ordinary  picnic. 
In  the  course  of  the  entertainment,  and  to  the  guests' 
astonishment,  the  strains  of  the '  Marseillaise '  suddenly 
broke  forth  from  behind  the  trees,  where  the  musi- 
cians were  concealed.  The  Prince  toasted  M.  Loubet, 
President  of  the  Republic,  cried  *  Vive  la  France ! '  and 
cheered  the  *  Marseillaise ' — the  tremendous  hymn 
that  had  *  gone  the  round  of  the  world.' 


XXXV 

CZAR  FERDINAND,  'CHIEF  ARTIFICER' 

Six  years  ago  Czar  Ferdinand's  ministers  celebrated 
the  first  twenty  years  of  his  reign  in  a  gracefully 
appropriate  and  eloquent  manner.  They  presented 
him  with  a  series  of  reports  on  the  progress  of  all  the 
state  departments  since  his  accession  to  the  throne. 
There  are  constitutionally  governed  states  in  which  a 
presentation  of  the  kind  would  mean  no  more  than 
an  amiably  polite  formality.  But  Czar  Ferdinand  is 
a  constitutional  monarch  who  does  something  more 
than  shoot  game  and  write  his  signature  when  asked. 
He  takes  his  metier  of  king  seriously.  He  is  one  of 
the  hardest  workers  in  Bulgaria.  He  has  his  eye  on 
every  one  of  the  state  departments  reviewed  in  the 
presentation  report.  He  is  familiar  with  every  detail 
of  their  management.  He  has  more  than  one  of  them 
under  his  personal  supervision.  As  the  record  of 
swift  progress  of  a  young  state  suddenly  emerged 
from  servitude — servitude  to  the  barbarian  ! — the 
Ferdinandian  report  is  unique.  It  justifies  the  state- 
ment, so  often  made,  that  the  rise  of  modern  Bulgaria 
is  the  most  remarkable  phenomenon  in  the  history  of 
latter-day  Europe.  And  it  justifies  the  description  of 
Czar  Ferdinand,  no  less  often  made  by  his  people,  as 
the  chief  artificer  of  this  modern  state. 

Among  the  various  sections  of  the  record  two 


300  CZAR  FERDINAND 

were  particularly  prominent — the  educational  and  the 
military.  The  education  of  the  people  was  the  first 
great  task  to  which  the  newly  chosen  Prince  gave  hiis 
mind.  A  beginning  had  been  made  before  his  acces- 
sion, but  only  a  frail  beginning.  Prince  Alexander's 
reign  was  too  much  absorbed  by  critical  quarrels  with 
Russia  and  party  rivalries  at  home  for  firm  grappling 
with  the  educational  problem,  so  that  when  Prince 
Ferdinand  came  to  the  throne  the  mass  of  the  people 
was  but  little  removed  from  the  state  of  ignorance  in 
which  the  Turks  had  left  them.  Most  of  the  educa- 
tional laws  of  contemporary  Bulgaria  have  been  passed 
in  Czar  Ferdinand's  time  and  under  his  scrutiny.  It 
is  but  the  literal  truth  that  in  no  European  country  is 
there  such  a  popular  eagerness  for  education  as  there 
is  in  Bulgaria.  For  the  first  few  years  after  the 
expulsion  of  the  Turk  the  Bulgar  was  indifferent. 
The  effects  of  the  Turko- Greek  oppression  were  not 
quite  worn  off.  In  1891-2,  when  Prince  Ferdinand 
had  been  four  years  on  the  throne,  there  was  a  change 
for  the  better.  At  the  time  of  Prince  Ferdinand's 
accession  primary  education  was  entrusted  to  the 
communes  and  municipalities.  The  result — an  intel- 
ligible one,  considering  the  extent  of  the  Augean  task 
which  Bulgarian  ministers  had  to  undertake  after  the 
Turks  were  cleared  out — ^was  inadequate  attendance, 
and  semi-starvation  of  a  truly  heroic  teaching  class. 
The  communal  and  municipal  authorities,  born  and 
brought  up  under  the  Turkish  regime,  were  them- 
selves, to  a  great  extent,  uneducated.    Prince  Fer- 


FERDINAND,  '  CHIEF  ARTIFICER '    301 

dinand  saw  the  urgency  of  subjecting  popular  educa- 
tion to  the  control  of  the  state — in  other  words,  of 
making  it  compulsory.  Notwithstanding  the  many 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  new  law — difficulties 
chiefly  arising  from  domestic  causes  that  had  to  be 
taken  into  account,  especially  in  the  case  of  a  recently 
constituted  state — the  attendance  in  the  primary 
schools  was  tripled  during  the  first  twenty  years  of 
Prince  Ferdinand's  reign.  The  state  expenditure  has 
been  increased  six-fold.  Considering  the  cost  of 
living  in  Bulgaria,  the  elementary  teachers  are  fairly 
well  paid.  Paid  by  the  state,  they  have  the  status  of 
civil  servants — a  point  to  which  Prince  Ferdinand 
from  the  first,  and  while  the  teachers  were  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  communes,  attached  particular  import- 
ance. Secondary  schools,  and  high  schools  for  girls 
— always  a  pet  project  of  Czar  Ferdinand's — have 
made  remarkable  progress.  An  old  Sofiote  Turk 
returned  from  the  grave  would  perhaps  be  more 
astonished — and  shocked — at  the  spectacle  of  the 
girls'  schools  than  at  any  other  giaour  freak.  A 
fully  manned  inspectorate  exercises  constant  super- 
vision over  all  classes  of  schools  from  the  lowest  to 
the  highest.  The  normal  schools  train  young  men 
and  women  for  a  profession  which  the  Bulgars,  to 
their  great  credit,  hold  in  the  highest  esteem  and 
regard.  At  the  summit  of  the  educational  structure 
there  was  the  Superior  School,  or  Academy,  of  Sofia 
— now  the  University,  manned  by  an  able  staff  of 
professors,  whose  students  in  former  times  would 


302  CZAR  FERDINAND 

have  had  to  migrate  to  Berlin,  Munich,  Vienna, 
Geneva,  MontpeUier,  or  Paris  for  their  education. 

Twenty  years  ago  and  more  Prince  Ferdinand 
nourished  the  ambition  of  making  his  people  the  best 
educated  of  the  Balkan  nations.  That  it  now  is,  by  a 
long  way.  There  is  still  a  large  percentage  of  adult 
illiterates,  but  among  the  rising  generation  instruction 
is  universal. 

The  School  of  Design  is  an  institution  in  which 
Czar  Ferdinand,  himself  a  connoisseur  in  the  Fine 
Arts,  has  always  taken  a  deep  personal  interest.  It 
was  founded  in  the  eighth  year  of  his  reign.  It  has 
its  teachers  in  sculpture,  painting,  pottery,  and 
decorative  work  generally.  In  its  early  years  Prince 
Ferdinand  often  said  that  his  Bulgars  possessed 
artistic  capacities  that  needed  no  more  than  an  oppor- 
tunity for  their  development.  He  has  himself  listened 
to  lectures  in  the  School  of  Design.  The  distinctions 
won  by  Bulgarian  art  students  at  foreign  exhibitions 
have  proved  that  Czar  Ferdinand's  opinion,  above 
given,  was  well  founded. 

Two  other  departments  in  which  the  Prince  takes 
an  active  personal  interest,  and  which  he  includes  in 
his  conception  of  an  all-round  educational  equipment, 
are  the  archaeological  and  the  zoological.  We  have 
already  said  that  natural  history  is  one  of  Czar 
Ferdinand's  specialities.  The  collection  of  zoological 
and  botanical  specimens  acquired  by  him  in  the 
course  of  his  travels,  or  by  his  agents  in  foreign 
countries,  and  which  he  has  presented  to  the  nation. 


FERDINAND,  '  CHIEF  ARTIFICER '    303 

has  been  of  the  greatest  use  to  students,  as  well  as 
an  attraction  to  the  public.  In  this  as  in  other 
respects  Czar  Ferdinand  is  the  educator  of  his 
people.  Archaeological  research,  a  new  departure  in 
the  intellectual  expansion  of  Bulgaria,  owes  much  to 
his  personal  encouragement.  It  promises  to  become 
an  important  branch  in  the  course  of  studies  at  Sofia 
University.  Before  the  subject  was  systematically 
taken  up  by  Bulgarian  scholars.  Czar  Ferdinand 
had  often  spoken  of  the  likelihood  that  the  districts 
of  Sofia,  Philippopolis,  Tirnovo,  as  also  the  sites  of 
ancient  towns  on  the  Black  Sea  coast — such  as 
Odessos  and  Mesembria — would  yield  a  good  harvest 
to  the  '  scholars  of  the  spade.'  Very  many  fragments 
of  mediaeval  and  classical  sculpture  and  architecture, 
coins  also,  have  been  recovered.  The  field  for  work 
of  this  kind  will  be  largely  extended  after  the  settle- 
ment of  Macedonia  has  been  effected  by  the  Allies 
and  the  Greeks  have  settled  down  comfortably  in 
Epirus.  Czar  Ferdinand  has  added  to  his  vast  and 
varied  collection  of  works  of  art,  ancient  and  modern, 
many  illustrations  of  archaeological  discoveries  that 
throw  light  on  the  past  history  of  his  kingdom.  The 
reconstruction  of  Bulgarian  history  is  his  great  aim 
in  these  pursuits,  just  as  the  encouragement  of  an 
original  Bulgarian  art  is  his  purpose  in  his  frequent 
purchase  of  works  produced  in  the  School  of  Design. 


XXXVI 

CZAR  FERDINAND'S  ACTIVITY 

The  enormous  amount  of  multifarious  work  Czar 
Ferdinand  gets  through  in  the  course  of  his  seventeen 
waking  hours  in  the  twenty-four  proves  that  he  is 
a  wonderful  economist  of  his  time.  There  is  not — 
at  least  there  used  not  to  be — any  hard  and  fast  system 
of  Cabinet  meetings  whether  there  might  be  any 
important  business  on  hand  or  not.  The  King  would 
waste  neither  his  own  time  nor  his  ministers'.  Ex- 
cept in  cases  where  a  ministerial  meeting  might  be 
needful — as  in  an  urgent  case  of  general  policy — the 
King's  simple  and  expeditious  practice  has  been  to 
summon  for  a  private  interview  at  the  palace  the  min- 
ister whose  department  the  matter  concerned.  The 
matter  to  be  discussed,  in  a  quiet,  business-like 
chat,  might  be  some  point  raised  in  a  report  already 
submitted  by  the  minister,  or  some  project  thought 
out  by  the  Czar  himself — about  a  country  road, 
about  a  branch  railway,  about  a  hospital  for  deaf- 
mutes,  about  the  extension  of  the  powers  of  the 
Agricultural  Bank  (a  favourite  institution  of  Czar 
Ferdinand's),  about  an  order  for  a  mountain  battery 
from  Krupp  or  for  Creusot  quick-firers.  In  any 
case  the  minister,  on  arriving  at  the  palace,  would 
find  Czar  Ferdinand  ready  with  his  drawings  and 
written  or  printed  documents.    And  the  minister 

304 


CZAR  FERDINAND'S  ACTIVITY      305 

might  be  summoned  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night, 
for,  as  already  recorded,  Czar  Ferdinand  often 
works  until  the  small  hours. 

One  might  be  tempted  to  infer,  from  the  Czar's 
method  of  transacting  business,  that  his  ministers 
were  simply  his  office  clerks.  But  the  inference  would 
be  very  wide  of  the  mark.  Czar  Ferdinand  scrupu- 
lously respects  their  position  as  the  responsible 
ministers  of  a  constitutional  monarch.  He  is  their 
*  co-worker,'  as  they  often  have  said,  open  to  con- 
viction, and  resourceful  in  a  perplexing  situation. 
In  the  King's  transactions  with  his  ministers  there 
is  no  rigidly  invariable  form  of  procedure.  So  long 
as  business  is  done,  it  does  not  matter  much  how 
it  is  done.  This  sort  of  elasticity  has  always  char- 
acterised the  Czar's  attitude  towards  political  parties. 
He  is  indifferent  to  parties.  The  only  party  he  cares 
for  is  the  Bulgarian  people.  If  a  minister  does  good 
service  to  the  nation,  it  matters  nothing  to  the  King 
whether  he  calls  himself  Neo-Stamboulovist  or  Con- 
servative or  Liberal  or  Radical.  And  in  the  gradual 
cessation  of  party  strife  and  arriviste  intrigue,  the 
King's  persistent,  easy,  taking-it-for-granted  manner 
of  ignoring  rival  watchwords,  has  had  its  shrewdly 
calculated  result. 

So  the  Bulgarian  people  have  abundant  grounds 
for  their  attribution  of  a  preponderant  influence  to 
Czar  Ferdinand  in  the  creation  of  their  modern 
state.  Every  department  of  the  state  bears  his 
impress.    One  great  department  in  particular  is  in 


3o6  CZAR  FERDINAND 

a  special  sense  his  own — the  Foreign  Department. 
Much  of  the  Czar's  foreign  work  has  been  achieved 
in  the  course  of  his  travels  to  the  European  capitals. 
The  bureau  of  his  luxuriously  furnished  royal  train 
might  be  described  as  the  Bulgar  Foreign  Office  on 
wheels.  But  in  this  sketch  we  must  confine  our- 
selves to  Czar  Ferdinand's  influence  on  the  country's 
internal  administration,  and  in  particular  to  its 
economic  development. 

People  who  profess  familiarity  with  the  intel- 
lectually speculative  bent  of  a  ruler  otherwise  so 
eminently  practical  as  Czar  Ferdinand,  ascribe  a 
peculiar  significance  to  his  interest  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Black  Sea  ports.  That  development, 
one  would  think,  should  have  interested  the  most 
prosaically  commercial  mind.  But  Czar  Ferdinand's 
is  not  a  prosaic  mind.  And  many  years  ago  there 
were,  among  his  intimates,  some  who  surmised  that 
the  Prince — as  he  then  was — dreamt  of  a  time  when 
the  re-birth  of  Greater  Bulgaria  would  signalise 
itself  by  a  direct  connection  between  the  Bulgarian 
ports  of  Varna  and  Bourgas  on  the  Black  Sea,  with 
Bulgarian  ports  to  be  acquired  on  the  JEgean  shore, 
in  a  war  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Turk.  Since  then 
Czar  Ferdinand's  troops  have  reached  the  iEgean 
Sea.  But  the  sequel  is  on  the  knees  of  the  gods. 
It  was  sometimes  said  that  the  railway  company 
favoured  the  iEgean  port  of  Dedeagatch  (at  which 
the  Bulgarian  troops  arrived  early  in  the  course  of  the 
war)  to  the  detriment,  real  or  supposed,  of  Varna. 


CZAR  FERDINAND'S  ACTIVITY       307 

But  surely  the  development  of  the  Slavic  races 
in  Russia  and  the  Balkans  points  to  a  great  com- 
mercial future  for  the  Euxine,  independently  of  any 
connection  with  the  Mediterranean.  Remains  of 
ancient  cities  indicate  that  the  Euxine  held  in  ancient 
epochs  a  position  analogous  to  that  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean in  a  later  age.  A  civilised  and  developed 
Asia  Minor,  Transcaucasia,  Eastern  and  Southern 
Russia,  Bulgaria  and  Roumania,  may  yet  turn  the 
Euxine  into  one  of  the  most  thriving  trading  seas  in 
the  world.  But  however  this  may  be,  the  Bulgarian 
port  of  Varna — the  ancient  Odessos — has  made  great 
progress  in  Czar  Ferdinand's  time.  His  Majesty 
loves  to  contemplate  it  from  his  Euxinograd  terrace, 
a  few  miles  distant,  and  constructed,  it  is  said,  for 
the  sake  of  the  Varna  view.  That  prosperous  towns 
will  spring  up  on  the  Euxine  shore  of  Bulgaria,  and 
in  his  own  lifetime,  is  said  to  be  Czar  Ferdinand's 
hope  and  belief.  The  port  of  Bourgas,  of  which 
Prince  Ferdinand  performed  the  inaugural  ceremony 
in  the  spring  of  1903,  may  yet  become  a  great  centre 
of  the  grain  trade. 

But  in  the  meanwhile,  as  in  the  past,  and  for  a 
long  time  to  come,  Varna  eclipses  every  other,  both 
in  beauty  and  in  commercial  importance.  Czar 
Ferdinand's  presence  at  Euxinograd  counts  for  much 
in  Varna's  prestige.  Through  his  predilection  for 
the  locality,  Varna  may  become  the  Brighton  of 
Bulgaria — unless,  of  course,  some  lEge^n  town  may 
spring  up  in  rivalry.     Even  if  it  does,  Varna,  for 


3o8  CZAR  FERDINAND 

picturesque  attractiveness,  will  be  hard  to  beat.  To 
English  readers  Varna  is  known  through  its  Crimean 
War  associations  only .  They  or  their  parents  have  read 
how  an  English  army  (to  say  nothing  of  its  French 
ally  in  the  same  locality)  was  decimated  by  cholera  in 
1854,  ^^^  t^^t  ^^^  merely  because  of  the  insanitari- 
ness  of  the  Turkish  town,  but  still  more  because  of  an 
incompetence  and  a  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  English 
Government,  as  flagrant  as  that  of  the  Turkish  Gov- 
ernment in  the  war  of  1 9 1 2- 1 3 .  The  contrast  between 
the  foul,  impoverished  little  Varna  village  of  the  Turk, 
and  the  healthy,  large,  rapidly  expanding  and  prosper- 
ous port  of  Czar  Ferdinand's  reign,  is  the  contrast 
between  Turkey  and  civilisation.  Since  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Turk  from  Bulgaria,  the  population  of 
Varna  has  been  more  than  doubled.  Czar  Ferdinand 
has  spent  many  an  hour  over  the  plans  and  the 
specifications  of  the  quays,  jetties,  boulevards,  com- 
pleted or  in  course  of  construction  at  the  Euxine  sea- 
port. The  improvement  of  Varna  was  one  of  the 
first  great  undertakings  of  the  earlier  period  of  Prince 
Ferdinand's  reign.  The  plans  were  drawn  up  by  the 
French  engineer  M.  Guerard,  the  Prince,  according 
to  his  custom,  taking  an  active  personal  interest  in 
them.  By  the  way,  among  Czar  Ferdinand's  official 
uniforms  is  an  admiral's.  And  yet,  the  small  flotilla 
which  Bulgaria  maintains  on  the  Danube  and  the 
Euxine  coast  is  all  that  Bulgaria  possesses  in  the  shape 
of  a  navy.  But  probably  it  is  prophetic.  And  Czar 
Ferdinand's  second  son,  Cyril,  Prince  of  Preslav,  who 


CZAR  FERDINAND'S  ACTIVITY       309 

is  said  to  be  a  passionate  lover  of  the  sea,  may  yet  be 
his  father's  admiral  of  a  Euxine  fleet. 

From  the  first  year  of  his  reign  Czar  Ferdinand 
made  the  economic  condition  of  the  peasantry  his 
constant  study.  In  the  first  year  of  his  reign  the 
population  amounted  to  three  and  a  quarter  millions. 
In  1913  it  amounts  to  nearly  four  and  a  half  millions — 
excluding  the  Macedonian  and  Thracian  territories, 
which  have  yet  to  be  delimited,  and  of  which  the 
Turks  had  never  taken  any  census.  The  great  bulk 
of  the  population  is  agricultural,  and  if  it  shows  no 
tendency  to  follow  the  fatal  example  of  Western 
populations  by  flocking  into  the  towns,  the  reason 
lies  in  the  wise  legislation  devised  with  the  ruling 
purpose  of  attaching  the  cultivators  to  the  soil.  *  Our 
peasants,'  to  quote  the  Czar's  own  words,  *  are  the 
backbone  of  Bulgaria.'  From  what  we  have  already 
said  of  the  Czar's  love  of  the  country  people  and  his 
agrarian  tastes  and  aptitudes,  the  encomium  which 
Ministers  of  Agriculture  and  Commerce — themselves 
chosen  for  their  expert  knowledge — have  bestowed 
upon  his  participation  in  their  labours,  will  cause  no 
surprise.  The  fundamental  facts  upon  which  Czar 
Ferdinand  based  his  agrarian  policy  were,  that  the 
agrarian  population  consisted  almost  entirely  of  small 
holders  whose  farms  rarely  exceeded  twelve  to  fifteen 
acres  in  extent ;  that  their  methods  of  cultivation 
were  in  the  main  primitive  ;  and  that  for  the  develop- 
ment of  their  industry  state  aid  in  some  form  or  other, 
combined  with  co-operative  agencies,  was  essential. 


3IO  CZAR  FERDINAND 

A  regulation  introduced  into  the  military  law  six 
or  seven  years  ago  by  which  young  soldiers  received 
a  certain  amount  of  industrial  instruction  before  re- 
turning to  their  homes,  was  attributed  to  the  Prince's 
direct  initiative.  Another  useful  measure  recom- 
mended by  the  Prince  was  the  exemption  from  taxa- 
tion for  a  number  of  years  of  land  brought  for  the  first 
time  under  cultivation.  Again,  by  means  of  the  parks 
and  gardens  founded  by  himself  many  years  ago  at  his 
personal  expense,  Czar  Ferdinand's  influence  in  the 
agricultural  development  of  Bulgaria  has  been  very  con- 
siderable. His  beautiful  estate  of  Vrana  is,  as  already 
recorded,  a  public  nursery  as  well  as  a  delightful 
retreat.  Experiments  that  have  succeeded  there  have 
been  repeated  in  hundreds  of  localities.  Many  years 
ago  the  Prince  made  a  close  study  of  the  German 
system  of  agricultural  banking,  and,  although  he  was 
not  the  pioneer  of  the  system,  its  extension  owes  much 
to  his  personal  encouragement.  The  Bulgarian  Agri- 
cultural Bank  has  now  many  hundreds  of  agencies  in 
communication  with  the  central  office  in  Sofia.  It 
promotes  the  formation  of  co-operative  societies  for 
the  purchase  of  machinery,  seed,  cattle,  and  for  trans- 
port ;  it  has  been  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  the 
rising  industry  of  wine-growing ;  its  loans  to  depart- 
ments, communes,  and  co-operative  societies  are 
granted  on  the  easiest  possible  terms.  There  are  few 
institutions  in  Bulgaria  in  which  Czar  Ferdinand 
takes  a  kindlier  interest  than  in  the  agricultural  schools 
at  Plevna.    Their  establishment  at  that  historic  spot 


CZAR  FERDINAND'S  ACTIVITY       311 

might  be  regarded  as  a  symbol  of  the  essentially 
pacific  spirit  of  the  Bulgarian  people,  who  have  no 
purpose  in  war  save  freedom  from  oppression,  and 
whose  one  desire  is  to  be  left  to  lead  their  laborious 
lives  in  their  own  way. 

Every  institution,  economic  or  educational,  which 
Czar  Ferdinand  found  already  existing  at  the  time  of 
his  accession,  has  experienced  the  benefit  of  his  direct 
co-operation  in  one  form  or  another.  The  forest  law, 
passed  eight  or  nine  years  ago,  superseding  a  law 
of  Prince  Alexander's  reign,  is  one  to  which  Czar 
Ferdinand  attached  the  utmost  importance.  The 
Bulgarian  forests,  thanks  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
King's  interest  in  their  scientific  treatment,  will  one 
day  become  a  source  of  great  wealth  to  the  country. 

In  his  insistence  on  the  combination  of  taste  with 
utility  in  handicrafts  Czar  Ferdinand  is  a  Ruskinian. 
The  law  of  1908  for  the  corporate  grouping  of  handi- 
crafts, a  measure  meant  to  be  temporary  only,  had  his 
approbation,  on  the  ground  that  in  a  few  years  it 
would  produce  a  highly  trained  class  of  artisans. 
Pottery,  carpet-making,  silk- weaving,  iron  work,  wood 
work,  are  a  few  of  the  chief  industries  incorporated 
under  this  law,  which  also  provides  for  the  training 
of  apprentices,  and  examination  by  qualified  inspec- 
tors of  work  produced.  These  workmen's  societies 
are  assisted  by  state  loans  at  a  low  rate  of  interest. 
Czar  Ferdinand's  principle  that  peaceful  development, 
through  free  labour  and  education,  is  the  raison  d'etre 
of  the  modern  state,  is  exemplified  by  the  legislation 


312  CZAR  FERDINAND 

of  the  last  few  years — such,  for  example,  as  the  partial 
exemption  from  military  service  granted  to  certificated 
young  men  trained  in  the  State  Commercial  School 
(founded  in  1906),  and  the  humane  laws  for  the  relief 
and  the  pensioning  of  disabled  and  superannuated 
work-people ;  for  the  prevention  of  accidents ;  for  the 
sanitation  of  workshops  and  factories  ;  for  limiting 
the  working  hours  of  women  and  children  ;  for  the 
settlement  of  disputes  through  the  mediation  of  the 
Chambers  of  Commerce.  The  barest  summary  of 
the  multiform  achievements  in  which  Czar  Ferdinand 
has  been  an  active  promoter,  and  often  an  initiator, 
would  exceed  the  limits  of  this  volume.  We  must 
conclude  this  chapter  with  a  brief  reference  to  the 
Princess  Marie  Louise's  establishment  of  girls'  classes 
in  domestic  economy  and  female  handicrafts.  Since 
her  death,  classes  and  schools  of  this  kind  have 
sprung  up  in  every  quarter  of  the  country. 


XXXVII 

CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  ARMY 

Great  and  lasting  though  Czar  Ferdinand's  work  is 
in  the  social  and  economic  development  of  Bulgaria, 
there  are  those  who  hold  that  his  greatest  work  is  the 
organisation  of  the  Bulgarian  army.  His  ministers 
and  the  public  are  the  best  judges  ;  and  their  verdict 
certainly  is  that  the  army  is  his  most  distinctive 
achievement.  '  His  creation/  as  I  have  heard  many 
a  Bulgarian  officer  declare  ;  for  such  organisation  of 
the  army  as  had  been  effected  in  Prince  Alexander's 
reign  was  little  more  than  rudimentary.  Czar 
Ferdinand  regarded  the  army  question  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  statesman  rather  than  from 
that  of  the  heaven-born  general  with  a  passion  for 
the  '  glorious  '  game  of  war.  Czar  Ferdinand  has 
no  such  passion.  Those  conversant  with  his  inmost 
thoughts  aver  that  he  has  a  temperamental  horror 
of  war  :  that  nothing  short  of  unescapable  necessity 
would  force  him  to  move  a  battalion.  Yet,  there  the 
fact  stands — Czar  Ferdinand  is  the  '  prime  artificer  ' 
of  an  army  which  has  no  superior  in  Europe.  It  was 
an  arduous  task,  carried  through  with  surprising 
rapidity.  Fifteen  years  after  his  accession  to  the 
throne,  and  nine  or  so  after  he  took  his  task  seriously 
in  hand,  Czar  Ferdinand  had  his  reward  in  the  admira- 
tion and  the  enthusiastic  praise  which  the  new  army 

313 


314  CZAR  FERDINAND 

evoked  from  the  Grand  Duke  Nicolas  and  his 
brilliant  suite  of  generals  at  Shipka  Pass,  on  the 
29th  and  30th  September  and  ist  October  1902. 

The  locality  was,  as  every  reader  knows,  famous 
in  the  history  of  South-Eastern  Europe.  The 
occasion  of  the  great  military  gathering  was  signifi- 
cant. So  was  the  date.  For  in  the  last  months  of 
1902  there  began  the  series  of  Macedonian  disturb- 
ances that  led  step  by  step  to  the  hurried  revolution 
of  the  '  Young  '  Turks,  and  through  these  to  the 
Balkan  Alliance  and  the  Turkish  collapse.  Not  that 
Prince  Ferdinand,  as  he  then  was,  professed  discern- 
ment of  the  goal  to  which  the  logic  of  things  would 
drive  him.  What  he  looked  for  at  that  time  and  for 
years  later  was  a  peaceable  solution  of  the  Balkan 
question.  Yet  none  the  less  had  he  made  his 
military  preparations  for  the  unforeseen.  And  the 
Russo-Bulgar  demonstration  at  Shipka  Pass  was  the 
first  great  test  to  which  the  value  of  his  labours  was 
subjected.  The  original  purpose  of  the  gathering 
was  the  consecration  of  a  church  in  memory  of  the 
soldiers  who  had  fallen  there  in  August  1877  and 
January  1878.  Czar  Ferdinand,  with  his  gift  for 
doing  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time,  took  the 
opportunity  of  turning  out  thirty-four  of  his  infantry 
battalions,  with  a  complement  of  engineers  and 
artillery  for  a  series  of  manoeuvres.  The  Russian 
War  Office  cordially  approved  of  the  scheme,  if  it 
did  not  originally  suggest  it.  Some  twenty  generals 
and  other  officers  of  the  Russian  army  accompanied 


CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  ARMY    315 

the  Grand  Duke  to  Shipka  Pass.  Among  them  was 
General  Kuropatkin,  destined  two  or  three  years 
later  to  disaster  in  Manchuria  ;  and  also  old  Count 
Ignatieff,  who,  when  ambassador  at  Constantinople, 
had  done  many  a  good  service  to  Bulgaria,  then  a 
Turkish  province.  Prince  Ferdinand  himself  had 
his  brilliant  suite  of  military  officers,  with  several 
members  of  the  household.  All  the  Russian  monu- 
ments of  the  dead  at  the  Pass  were  draped  in  crape. 
The  manoeuvres  took  the  form  of  a  reproduction  of 
the  combats  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  before.  Every 
scene  in  the  fighting  had  been  identified  beforehand. 
The  first  day's  manoeuvres  represented  the  August 
combat,  which  ended  in  Suleiman  Pasha's  retreat. 
The  second  day's  represented  the  storming  of  the 
Turkish  camp  and  the  final  victory  of  the  Russians. 

The  mimic  battles  over,  the  Grand  Duke  ex- 
pressed, in  unstinted  terms,  his  admiration  at  the 
discipline  and  efficiency  of  the  young  Bulgarian 
army.  He  congratulated,  with  a  hearty,  repeated 
hand-shake.  Prince  Ferdinand,  its  commander-in- 
chief.  The  Russian  generals  were  emphatic  in  their 
praises.  Young  Bulgaria  had  at  last  created  an  army, 
which  the  European  Powers  would  thenceforth  have 
to  take  into  account.  And  more  of  the  like  flatter- 
ing character.  The  third  and  last  act  in  the  Shipka 
celebration  was  the  march  past,  before  the  Grand 
Duke,  of  the  entire  Bulgarian  force,  led  by  Prince 
Ferdinand  in  person.  Immediately  behind  the 
Prince  came  the  veterans  of  the  Bulgarian  Legion, 


3i6  CZAR  FERDINAND 

who  had  fought  at  the  Pass  and  elsewhere  in  the 
War  of  Liberation.  It  was  an  incident  that  touched 
every  spectator  of  the  scene.  During  the  receptions 
and  entertainments  that  followed  the  march  past, 
the  Grand  Duke  and  his  generals  expressed,  in 
greater  detail,  their  appreciation  of  the  Bulgarian 
army's  progress  since  the  days  when,  for  the  work 
of  preliminary  instruction,  only  Russian  officers  were 
available.  Among  the  Russian  officers  present  at 
the  Grand  Duke's  reception  of  their  Bulgarian 
brothers-in-arms  there  were  some  who  had  taken 
part,  more  than  twenty  years  before,  in  the  enrolment 
of  the  first  regular  Bulgarian  soldiers. 

A  few  hours  later  Prince  Ferdinand  gave  a 
banquet  to  the  Grand  Duke  Nicolas  and  the  Russian 
officers.  He  made  a  capital  speech,  in  which  he 
expressed  his  gratitude  to  the  original  instructors — 
the  Russians — of  the  Bulgarian  forces,  and  to  the 
Czar  Liberator,  whose  memory  would  be  venerated 
in  Bulgaria  as  long  as  the  race  endured.  The  Prince 
gave  a  rapid,  vivid  sketch  of  the  progress  of  his  army. 
He  was  loudly  applauded  when  he  spoke  of  the 
fraternisation  of  the  Russian  and  Bulgarian  peoples. 
On  this  fraternisation  the  Grand  Duke  in  his  reply 
laid  particular  emphasis,  also  remarking  that  the 
Shipka  demonstration,  being  simply  an  act  of 
grateful  remembrance,  was  entirely  pacific. 

But  no  less  significant  than  the  foregoing  events 
was  the  popular  reception  accorded  to  the  Grand 
Duke  and  the  other  Russian  visitors.    They  were 


CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  ARMY    317 

wildly  acclaimed  wherever  they  appeared.  There 
was  no  sign  of  an  '  ungrateful  '  Bulgaria.  At  Stara 
Zagora — Czar  Ferdinand's  headquarters  ten  years 
later  ! — thousands  of  people  from  far-distant  localities 
came,  with  their  banners  and  their  musical  choirs, 
to  welcome  the  Russian  Prince.  Old  Count  Ignatieff's 
reception  in  Sofia  was  a  veritable  triumph.  The 
population  turned  out  en  masse.  The  city  was 
illuminated.  There  were  torchlight  processions, 
and  Macedonian  deputations — to  whom  the  old 
diplomatist  spoke  in  encouraging  terms  that  might 
have  alarmed  the  Stambouli  pashas. 

Interesting  and  curious  are  the  comments  of  some 
of  the  leading  Russian  newspapers  on  the  Shipka  Pass 
fraternisation  as  they  now  read  after  twelve  years. 
The  Novosti  advised  the  Bulgarians  to  be  reasonable  : 
not  to  be  led  astray  by  a  too  soaring  ambition.  Servia 
and  Montenegro,  it  went  on,  no  less  than  Bulgaria, 
have  interests  in  Macedonia.  Russia  will  not  help 
Bulgaria  to  extend  her  sway  to  the  iEgean  Sea  :  Bul- 
garia has  done  her  work  :  she  must  not  disturb  the 
Balkanic  equilibrium  for  her  own  advantage.  And 
more  to  the  same  effect.  The  Novoe  Vremya  was 
much  more  sympathetic.  It  praised  the  tact  and 
patience  of  Prince  Ferdinand  and  his  government 
through  the  trials  of  the  past,  and  in  face  of  rising 
troubles  in  Macedonia.  It  reiterated  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand's words  on  fraternisation,  and  rejoiced  that  the 
unhappy  misunderstandings  of  the  Alexander- Stam- 
bouloff  era  were  for  ever  removed,  and  that  Bulgaria 


3i8  CZAR  FERDINAND 

had  established  her  position  as  an  independent 
state. 

In  spite  of  the  NovostVs  warning  the  Bulgarians 
have  reached  the  southern  sea,  and  that,  too,  with- 
out asking  any  help  from  Russia,  but  in  partner- 
ship with  the  neighbouring  states,  between  which  and 
Bulgaria  the  Russian  journal  deemed  any  reconcilia- 
tion of  interests  to  be  impracticable.  Its  contempor- 
ary had  a  clearer  vision  of  the  situation.  The  Shipka 
Pass  commemoration,  with  its  Russian  verdict,  was  a 
signal  tribute  to  Prince  Ferdinand's  wisdom,  energy, 
and  ability  both  in  foreign  diplomacy  and  internal 
administration. 

In  the  last  year  or  two  of  Prince  Alexander's  reign 
the  Bulgarian  officers  were,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, innocent  of  anything  worth  calling  a  professional 
education.  The  rank  and  file  had  not  been  efficiently 
trained,  their  Russian  instructors  having  been  with- 
drawn in  the  midst  of  their  labours.  They  counted 
considerably  less  than  twenty  thousand.  As  for 
equipments,  there  were  instances  in  which  different 
patterns  of  rifles,  old  and  new,  were  in  use  in  one  and 
the  same  battalion.  The  unprovoked  raid  of  the 
Servian  army  in  1885  alarmed  the  Bulgarians,  and 
Prince  Alexander  took  the  task  of  military  reform  at 
once  in  hand.  But  little  progress  had  been  made  at 
the  beginning  of  the  new  reign.  So  poor  an  opinion 
had  the  Servians  of  their  neighbour's  military  effi- 
ciency at  the  time  of  the  raid  that  King  Milan  boasted 
he  would  disperse  the  Bulgarian  levies  in  a  single 


CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  ARMY    319 

battle,  and  then  celebrate  a  Te  Deum  in  the  cathedral 
of  Sofia.  The  Sofian  satirists  alleged  that  His  Majesty 
had  ordered  candles  for  the  purpose. 

The  formation  of  a  large  standing  army  was  not 
contemplated  in  Prince  Ferdinand's  plan  of  military 
reorganisation.  What  he  aimed  at  was  the  mainten- 
ance of  a  force  of  between  forty-five  and  fifty  thousand 
men,  which  should  serve  as  a  framework  within  which, 
in  the  event  of  war,  *  the  armed  nation  ' — that  is,  the 
men  who  had  already  passed  through  the  ranks — 
should  be  marshalled.  Military  service  was  universal 
and  obligatory  :  a  duty  of  citizenship.  None  but  the 
physically  or  mentally  incapable  were  wholly  exempt. 
Partial  exemptions  were  granted  to  certain  classes  of 
certificated  experts  in  the  trades  and  professions,  and 
to  heads  of  families.  Persons  convicted  of  certain 
oflfences  against  the  law  were  not  exempted — they 
were  excluded,  as  unworthy  of  the  dignity  of  citizen 
soldiers.  Young  men  not  sufficiently  robust  for  the 
hard  work  of  the  rank  and  file  were  to  be  employed 
in  the  subsidiary  departments  of  the  army.  The 
standing  army — otherwise  the  military  framework  of 
the  nation — ^was  to  be  equipped  with  munitions  of  the 
latest  and  best  pattern,  and  to  be  kept  up  to  the  high- 
est mark  of  discipline  and  efficiency.  For  this  pur- 
pose petty  officers  were  encouraged,  by  special  rates 
of  pay,  by  bounties  and  pensions,  to  re-enlist.  By 
this  system  the  military  training  of  the  manhood  of 
the  nation  remained  in  the  hands  of  experienced 
instructors,  and  went  on  without  interruption.    Such, 


320  CZAR  FERDINAND 

in  briefest  outline,  was  the  system  which  Prince 
Ferdinand  laboured  at  during  the  most  strenuous 
years  of  his  reign.  What  the  Grand  Duke  Nicolas 
and  his  generals  looked  upon  when  the  Prince  led  his 
three  splendid  divisions  past  the  flagstaff  at  Shipka 
Pass  was  not  merely  a  section  of  a  standing  army  but 
of  an  armed  people.  Prince  Ferdinand  had  solved 
his  problem.  Nothing  remained  to  be  done  except 
to  adhere  to  the  system  which  had  stood  its  test  so 
successfully,  and  to  be  on  the  alert  for  any  ordeal  to 
which  some  crisis  in  the  Balkans  might  subject  it. 


XXXVIII 

PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  CZARDOM 

Scarcely  had  Prince  Ferdinand  led  his  three  divisions 
in  the  march  past  at  Shipka  than  there  began  the  in- 
evitable crisis  that,  with  one  or  two  interludes  of  a 
pseudo-reformatory  character,  ended  twelve  years 
later  in  the  expulsion  of  the  Turk  from  Adrianople. 
Fortunately  a  soldier  and  organiser  whose  name  will 
rank  for  ever  among  the  foremost  in  the  annals  of 
war — General  Savoff,  Chief  of  the  Military  College — 
resumed  his  old  post  of  War  Minister  ;  and  forthwith 
the  head  of  the  state  and  his  trusted  minister  laboured 
with  redoubled  activity  at  their  joint  task  of  perfecting 
their  '  fighting  machine  '  to  its  minutest  detail.  It 
does  not  follow  that  the  Prince  at  this  date  contem- 
plated a  conquest  of  Macedonia  or  regarded  a  war  as 
unavoidable.  There  were,  indeed,  among  his  own 
advisers  those  who  held  that,  without  war,  the  lot  of 
the  Macedonian  and  Thracian  Christians — Bulgarian 
by  a  great  majority — never  would  be  bettered.  This 
also  was  the  general  opinion  among  the  officers  and 
rank  and  file  of  the  army.  Only  on  one  point  was 
there  absolute  unanimity  among  the  Bulgarian  people 
— from  the  Prince  to  the  day  labourer,  from  the 
general  to  the  youngest  recruit — their  kindred  in 
Thrace  and  Macedonia  must  be  given  a  '  bear- 
able life.'    The  many,  as  I  have  already  indicated, 


322  CZAR  FERDINAND 

believed  that  the  '  bearable  life  '  could  only  be  secured 
by  war  ;  the  few,  that  the  needful  reforms  could  be 
secured  by  diplomatic  pressure.  But  of  these  few, 
some  would  trust  to  diplomacy  alone  ;  while  others,  a 
majority,  held  that  the  diplomatists  must  be  com- 
pelled to  interfere.  Hence  the  Macedonian  rising  of 
1902-3,  and  the  frequent  outbreaks  in  subsequent 
years  ;  in  other  words,  the  comitaji  insurrection — 
the  '  brigand  '  insurrection,  as  the  Turk  named  it — 
designed  to  *  compel '  the  *  European  intervention ' 
without  which  the  *  bearable  life,'  never  would  be 
extorted  from  the  Turk.  Until  the  last  spark  of  hope 
of  the  *  bearable  life,'  either  under  Turkish  or  Turko- 
European  supervision,  had  vanished,  *  Macedonia  for 
the  Macedonians '  was  the  cry  of  a  large  section  of  the 
Bulgar  population  in  the  *  enslaved  '  province.  That 
any  considerable  section  of  Prince  Ferdinand's  sub- 
jects or  of  the  Macedonian  Christians  should  have 
regarded  autonomy  as  anything  but  a  temporary 
expedient,  and  one  of  unstable  equilibrium,  must  have 
astonished  foreign  residents  familiar  with  the  Turk 
and  his  neighbours  and  observing  the  course  of 
events  with  an  unprejudiced  eye.  Unless  the  Mace- 
donian Serbs,  Greeks,  and  Bulgars  were  to  be  sub- 
jected indefinitely  to  European  tutelage,  their  rivalries 
would  sooner  or  later  lead  to  annexation,  either  by  one 
or  two  great  empires  or  by  the  states  to  which  they 
were  respectively  attached  by  race. 

Yet  during  the  whole  of  this  period — the  period 
of  broken  calm  before  the  storm — Prince  Ferdinand 


PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  CZARDOM    323 

professed  faith  in  the  possibility  of  a  Turkish  refor- 
mation, bringing  with  it  the  boon  of  a  '  bearable 
life  '  for  his  subjects'  kindred.  He  professed  it — he, 
the  student  of  history — in  spite  of  the  frightful 
lessons  of  five  hundred  years.  Yes ;  but  at  the  same 
time  he  was  making  ceaseless  preparations  for  the 
worst — he  and  War  Minister  Savoff — just  as  if  he 
had  not  the  smallest  faith  in  the  Turk's  desire  or 
capacity  for  improvement.  His  was  an  exceptionally 
difficult  and  delicate  position,  needing  the  constant 
exercise  of  his  great  diplomatic  ability.  He  had  to 
soothe  the  Turk  ;  to  disarm  the  suspicions  of  foreign 
Powers  ;  to  pacify  his  own  subjects,  the  army  in 
particular,  eager  to  fall  upon  the  Turk  ;  to  persuade 
the  Macedonians  that  he  would  not  leave  them  in 
the  lurch  ;  to  restrain  the  Macedonian  committees 
in  Bulgaria  itself,  for  whose  partnership  with  the 
'  brigand  '  bands  the  Turkish  Government  held  the 
Prince  and  his  ministers  responsible.  While  grap- 
pling with  realities,  he  had  to  profess  respect  for  the 
hoUowest,  most  miserable  imposture  that  has  ever 
afflicted  the  European  East — our  old  acquaintance, 
*  Status  Quo.'  The  Powers  warned  him  that,  should 
he  make  war  upon  the  Turks  and  beat  them,  he 
would  gain  nothing,  for  *  Status  Quo  '  would  have  to 
be  respected.  The  same  warning  was  repeated  nine 
years  later,  in  191 2.  At  neither  crisis  did  it  occur 
to  '  the  Chancelleries '  that  Ferdinand  might  be  in  a 
position  to  create  a  new  *  Status  Quo.'  And  when  the 
Prince,  always  impeccably  '  correct,'  would  bow  to 


324  CZAR  FERDINAND 

the  Powers'  assurances  that  diplomatic  intervention 
would  speedily  give  the  Macedonians  all  the  satis- 
faction they  demanded,  the  Macedonian  insurgent 
leaders  would  protest  (as  the  present  writer  has  often 
heard  them  do)  that  '  diplomacy  had  never  done  ' 
them  *  any  good,'  and  his  own  subjects  murmur  at 
his  '  subservience  '  to  foreign  governments. 

During  this  critical  period  there  were  a  hundred 
insurgent  bands  in  Macedonia.  They  had  the 
prayers,  and  a  good  many  of  the  pence,  of  Czar 
Ferdinand's  subjects.  '  Why  don't  you  Bulgars 
watch  your  frontiers  ? '  the  Turk  exclaimed,  threat- 
ening invasion ;  while  Prince  Ferdinand  had  on  his 
side  of  the  border  line  nine  sentries  to  every  single 
sentry  on  the  Turkish  side.  The  Prince  and  his 
ever  vigilant  War  Minister  saw  to  it.  The  Bulgarian 
Government  caught  and  *  interned  '  numbers  of  in- 
surgents crossing  from  Macedonia,  but  there  is  no 
record  of  Turkish  captures  of  men  from  Bulgaria. 
It  was  in  a  great  measure  owing  to  Czar  Ferdinand's 
rare  diplomatic  tact,  to  his  patience,  to  his  intuition 
of  the  fitting  moment,  that  war  was  staved  off  in  1903. 
For  one  thing,  the  army  was  not  quite  ready. 

While  General  Savoff  was  perfecting  his  '  fight- 
ing machine,'  the  wide-awake  Prince  was  busy  in 
another  direction.  Foreseeing  the  great  risk  he  must 
run  if  compelled  to  fight  single-handed  in  the 
struggle  which  he  hoped  might  be  for  ever  averted, 
he  began  to  look  out  for  allies.  Some  years  earlier 
he  took  his  first  steps  in  this  direction,  in  certain 


PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  CZARDOM    325 

tentative  negotiations  between  M.  Stoiloff  and  the 
Servian  Foreign  Minister.  These  were  continued  by 
Dr.  Daneff  (the  chief  Bulgarian  delegate  at  the 
London  Conference  of  1912).  In  1906  a  Customs 
Union  was  formed  between  Bulgaria  and  Servia. 
Austria  retaliated.  The  '  pork  war  '  followed ;  but 
Prince  Ferdinand  and  his  ministers,  by  giving  the 
Servian  pig-rearers  exceptional  facilities  at  the  port 
of  Varna,  opened  for  them  a  profitable  trade  with 
France.     The  Customs  Union,  though  spoiled  by  the 

*  Young  '  Turks,  was  prophetic.  It  may  be  interesting 
to  recall  M.  de  Launay's  reflections  on  this  subject 
two  years  later.  An  alliance,  said  he,  would  be  *  a 
happy  event ' ;  there  was  no  real  ground  for  jealousy 
between  Servia  and  Bulgaria,  so  a  union  between 
them  and  their  *  common  foe,'  the  Turk,  would  be 
formed  some  day  ;  and  it  was  to  be  hoped  that 
Greece  '  would  join,'  but  this  was  *  rather  improbable.* 
M.  de  Launay  admired  Prince  Ferdinand's  ability. 

But  in  July  1908  the  '  Young '  Turks,  in  order 
to  wrest  the  task  of  reforming  Macedonia  from  the 
European  Powers,  whose  selected  officers  had  already 
been  at  work  in  the  province  (and  thwarted  by  the 
Turkish  authorities),  precipitated  their  revolution. 
The  Golden  Age  for  Macedonia  has  arrived,  said  the 

*  Young '  Turk  ;  Prince  Ferdinand  need  no  longer 
pose  as  the  Liberator  of  Macedonia.  But  a  few 
months'  experience  proved  that  the  *  Young  '  Turk 
was  just  the  old  Turk  under  a  new  label.  The 
massacres  of  the  Christians  began  again.    And  so  the 


326  CZAR  FERDINAND 

Macedonian  insurgents,  who  had  returned  to  their 
homes,  were  *  out '  again.  And  Prince  Ferdinand's 
subjects  murmured  and  growled  again  at  his  exag- 
gerated caution.  And  the  army  became  fretful. 
Any  slight  incident  might  cause  a  torrent  of  indig- 
nation which  even  Prince  Ferdinand  might  find  it 
impossible  to  resist.  The  incident  did  come,  in 
September  1908,  a  silly,  trivial  incident,  from  one 
point  of  view  ;  but  from  the  Bulgarian  people's  a 
gross  insult  to  the  nation  and  its  ruler,  to  be  avenged 
by  casting  off  the  last  flimsy  remnants  of  *  vassal- 
age *  to  the  Sultan  and  proclaiming  Bulgaria  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom.  On  the  childish  pretence  that 
Bulgaria  was  a  *  vassal '  state,  the  *  Young '  Turk 
minister  refused  to  invite  to  a  diplomatic  dinner  the 
Bulgarian  agent  at  Constantinople,  who  for  many 
years  had  been  received  at  the  Porte  as  his  country's 
accredited  representative,  and  treated  on  a  footing 
of  equality  with  his  colleagues  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps.  The  news  of  the  insult  threw  the  entire 
country  into  a  state  of  excitement.  The  Prince  was 
abroad.  What  would  he  do  ?  The  ministers  agreed 
to  resign  should  the  Prince  refuse  to  proclaim  the 
nation's  independence.  But  the  Prince  who  twenty- 
one  years  ago  had  made  a  huge  rent  in  the  Berlin 
Treaty,  and  taken  '  the  risks,'  was  not  the  man  to 
shrink  from  the  act  of  retaliation  his  people  expected 
of  him. 

It  was  announced  that  the  Prince  was  about  to 
land  at  Rustchuk.     The  ministers  hurried  to  the 


II. M.    TIIK   QIKKN    OF   HUI.r.ARlA   IN   TIIK  DRKSS  OK  A   KKO 
(.ROSS    SISTKR 


PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  CZARDOM    327 

port.  At  a  Cabinet  Council  held  on  board  the 
Prince's  yacht,  he  agreed  at  once  to  proclaim  the 
nation's  independence.  The  ceremony  was  to  take 
place  at  Tirnovo  on  the  5th  October.  Universal 
rejoicing.  Multitudes  of  people  journeyed  to  the 
ancient  capital,  whose  citizens,  with  their  municipal 
officers,  worked  all  night  at  erecting  arches  and 
decorating  the  streets.  They  paraded  round  the 
statue  of  the  Czar  Liberator,  and  of  Levsky,  the 
young  patriot  whom  the  Turks  hanged  at  Sofia  in 
1873.  They  danced  their  national  dances  before 
the  hall  where  the  national  representatives  meet  on 
special  occasions.  The  Prince  walked  from  the 
station  through  the  streets  to  the  Church  of  the 
Forty  Martyrs,  where  he  was  received  by  the 
Archimandrite  and  the  clergy.  After  an  interval 
of  silence  which  followed  the  religious  service,  the 
Prince  rose  and  read  the  following  proclamation  : — 

*By  the  will  of  our  never-to-be-forgotten  Liberator  and 
the  great  kindred  Russian  nation,  aided  by  our  good  friends 
and  neighbours  the  subjects  of  the  King  of  Roumania,  by  the 
Bulgarian  heroes  on  February  i8,  1878,  chains  of  slavery  were 
broken  by  which  for  so  many  centuries  Bulgaria,  once  a  great 
and  glorious  Power,  was  bound.  From  that  time  till  to-dayfor 
full  thirty  years  the  Bulgarian  nation,  preserving  the  memory 
of  those  who  had  laboured  for  its  freedom  and  inspired  by 
their  tradition,  has  worked  incessantly  for  the  development  of 
its  beautiful  country,  and  under  my  guidance  and  that  of  the 
departed  Prince  Alexander  has  made  it  a  nation  fit  to  take  an 
equal  place  in  the  family  of  civilised  peoples  and  endowed  with 
gifts  of  cultural  and  economic  progress.     While  proceeding 


328  CZAR  FERDINAND 

on  this  path  nothing  should  arrest  the  progress  of  Bulgaria, 
nothing  should  hinder  her  success.  Such  is  the  desire  of  the 
nation,  such  its  will.  Let  that  desire  be  fulfilled.  The  Bul- 
garian nation  and  its  chief  can  have  but  one  sentiment,  one 
desire.  Practically  independent,  the  nation  was  impeded  in 
its  normal  and  peaceful  development  by  certain  illusions  and 
formal  limitations,  which  resulted  in  a  coldness  of  relations 
between  Turkey  and  Bulgaria.  I  and  the  nation  desire  to 
rejoice  in  the  political  development  of  Turkey.  Turkey  and 
Bulgaria  free  and  independent  of  each  other  may  exist  under 
conditions  which  will  allow  them  to  strengthen  their  friendly 
relations  and  to  devote  themselves  to  peaceful  internal  develop- 
ment. Inspired  by  the  sacred  purpose  of  satisfying  national 
requirements,  and  fulfilling  the  national  desire,  I  proclaim,  with 
the  blessing  of  the  Almighty,  Bulgaria — united  since  September 
6,  1885 — an  independent  kingdom.  Together  with  the  nation 
I  firmly  believe  that  this  act  will  meet  with  the  approbation  of 
the  Great  Powers.' 

Independence  having  been  proclaimed,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  spoke  as  follows  : — 

*  Your  Majesty,  the  proclamation  of  the  independence  of 
Bulgaria  fulfils  one  of  the  dearest  wishes  of  the  nation.  This 
act  is  emphatically  approved  by  the  people,  and  in  the  name  of 
the  national  representatives  I  beg  you  to  accept  the  laurel  of 
glory  as  Bulgarian  King.' 

Then  the  Prime  Minister  : — 

'  Your  Majesty,  the  national  interests  and  the  national 
dignity  have  imposed  upon  you  a  sacred  resolve  to  declare 
in  this  historic  and  holy  place  Bulgaria  as  an  independent 
kingdom.  Allow  me  in  the  name  of  the  Government  to 
request  you  to  accept  the  title  of  the  first  Bulgarian  King.* 


PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  CZARDOM    329 
The  Prince  replied  : — 

*  With  pride  and  thanksgiving  I  accept  the  title  of  Bulgarian 
King  offered  me  by  the  nation  and  government.'  ^ 

Prince  Ferdinand,  now  King  Ferdinand  i.  of  Bul- 
garia, then  walked  from  the  church,  amidst  the 
thunderous  applause  of  his  people,  to  the  ancient 
Hissar,  or  castle,  on  a  steep  cliff,  at  the  foot  of  which 
flows  the  Yantra.  The  Hissar  was  for  a  long  period 
the  fortified  residence  of  the  old  Bulgarian  czars. 
Here  the  proclamation  was  read  a  second  time  by  the 
first  of  the  modern  czars — separated  from  them  by 
hundreds  of  years,  during  which  it  seemed  to  the 
nations  of  Europe  that  the  Bulgarian  race  had 
vanished  from  the  world. 

1   Times  Special  Correspondent. 


XXXIX 

CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  WAR 

In  its  friendly  reference  to  Turkey,  its  generous  recog- 
nition of  Roumanians  help  in  the  Liberation  War  and 
of  his  predecessor's  services,  its  allusion  to  the  beauty 
of  Bulgaria  and  the  versatile  talents  of  its  people,  the 
proclamation  was  characteristic  of  the  Czar.  Curious 
it  is  to  note  the  expression  of  the  hope — so  often 
repeated  since  the  day  when  the  Czar  first  touched 
Bulgarian  soil — of  an  era  of  peace  and  progress  for 
Turkey,  and  of  co-operation  between  her  and  her 
formal  *  vassal.*  However,  private  convictions  apart, 
it  was  the  *  correct '  thing  to  say.  He  soon  became 
aware — if  he  was  not  aware  of  it  before,  which  to 
ordinary  mortals  will  seem  incredible — that  there  was 
a  worse  '  illusion  '  than  the  old  bond  of  vassalage  : 
faith  in  the  *  Young  '  Turk.  Year  after  year  atrocities 
of  the  traditional  stamp  went  on  in  Macedonia, 
culminating  in  the  summer  of  1912  in  the  massacre  of 
Kochana,  a  Macedonian  town  close  to  the  Bulgarian 
frontier,  and  facing  the  Bulgarian  town  and  garrison 
of  Kustendil. 

From  end  to  end  of  the  kingdom  arose  the  cry  for 
war,  this  time  irresistible.  In  1903  the  Czar  had  set 
his  face  against  war  because  the  army  was  unready  ; 
in  1908  because  there  was  no  Balkan  League.    But 

330 


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CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  WAR    331 

the  League  now  existed,  and  was  ready  to  mobilise. 
It  was,  chiefly,  Czar  Ferdinand's  achievement.  He 
had  planned  it  patiently  for  years.  A  complex  task 
it  was  to  reconcile  the  interests  and  ambitions  of  four 
states,  even  though  the  Turk  was  the  common  foe. 
Czar  Ferdinand  was  the  artificer  of  the  League,  as  he 
had  been  the  artificer  of  the  modern  Bulgarian  state. 
His  army  was  the  main  body  of  the  Balkanic  host. 
For  years  he  had  been  quietly,  steadily  adding  millions 
of  francs  to  his  war  chest.  One  of  the  finest  strokes 
of  his  diplomacy  was  his  procuring  King  Peter's  con- 
sent to  the  employment  of  a  Servian  contingent  with 
the  Bulgarian  army  in  Thrace. 

The  5th  of  October  is  a  notable  date  in  Bulgarian 
history.  On  that  day  the  czardom  was  proclaimed  at 
Tirnovo  four  years  before.  On  the  5th  October  19 12 
the  mobilisation  of  the  army  was  ordained  at  the  meet- 
ing of  an  Extraordinary  Session  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  at  Sofia.  The  procedure  was  eloquently 
simple.  Czar  Ferdinand's  opening  of  the  parliament- 
ary sessions  had  always  been  marked  by  pomp  and 
ceremony.  But  on  this  occasion  there  were  no  gilded 
carriages,  no  military  escorts.  The  Czar  drove  to  the 
assembly  in  a  motor  car.  He  was  dressed  simply  in 
general's  uniform.  The  population,  well  knowing 
what  serious  business  he  had  on  hand,  crowded  the 
streets  and  cheered  him  enthusiastically.  Instead  of 
reading  his  speech  seated,  according  to  custom,  he 
read  it  standing  :  a  very  short  speech,  stating  his 
reasons  for  mobilisation.    He  then  left.    The  House 


332  CZAR  FERDINAND 

then  voted,  with  loud  cheers,  for  mobiHsation,  the 
deputies  for  the  Turkish  constituencies  voting  with 
their  Christian  colleagues.  There  was  only  one  dis- 
sentient ;  nor  was  he  a  Turk.  The  Prime  Minister 
declared  that  the  Government  had  exhausted  all  its 
means  of  securing  humane  treatment  for  the  Mace- 
donians, and  that  it  had  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Turks  were  planning  an  invasion  of  Bulgaria.  A 
little  later  in  the  day  the  troops  of  the  Sofia  garrison 
were  on  the  march  to  Philippopolis.  They  sang  their 
national  songs  as  they  marched  out.  Two  or  three 
days  later  the  Powers  warned  the  Bulgarian  Govern- 
ment that  the  territorial  integrity  of  Turkey  would 
remain  the  same  after  a  war  as  before  it.  Turkey 
mobilised  on  the  12th.  Two  days  later  Queen 
Eleanore  instituted  a  system  of  relief  for  the  families 
of  reservists  called  out  for  active  service.  On  the  night 
of  the  1 6th  Czar  Ferdinand  left  Sofia  for  his  head- 
quarters at  Stara  Zagora,  overlooking  the  Thracian 
frontier.  A  few  hours  later  Turkey  declared  war. 
On  the  1 8th  Czar  Ferdinand  did  likewise.  The  re- 
ligious ceremony  at  which  his  proclamation  took 
place  was  most  impressive.  The  old  Archbishop 
Methodius,  who  conducted  it,  had  borne  his  part  in 
the  agitation  that  led,  twenty-seven  years  ago,  to  the 
union  of  Eastern  Roumelia  with  the  Principality. 
Czar  Ferdinand  was  deeply  moved  as  the  venerable 
archbishop  pronounced  his  blessing  on  the  Bulgarian 
army.  In  a  clear,  steady,  resonant  voice  he  read  out 
his  eloquent  proclamation  : — 


CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  WAR    333 

*  Bulgarians !  in  the  course  of  my  reign  of  twenty-five 
years  I  have  always  sought,  in  the  peaceful  work  of  civilisa- 
tion, the  progress,  welfare,  and  glory  of  Bulgaria,  and  it  was 
in  this  direction  that  I  wished  to  see  the  Bulgarian  nation  con- 
stantly advance,  but  Providence  has  judged  otherwise.  The 
moment  has  come  when  the  Bulgarian  race  is  called  upon  to 
renounce  the  benefits  of  peace  and  have  recourse  to  arms  for 
the  solution  of  a  great  problem.  Beyond  the  Rila  and  the 
Rhodope  Mountains  our  brothers  in  blood  and  religion  have 
not  been  able  until  this  day,  thirty-five  years  after  our  libera- 
tion, to  obtain  a  bearable  life.  All  the  efforts  made  to  attain 
this  object,  both  by  the  Great  Powers  and  by  the  Bulgarian 
Government,  have  failed  to  create  conditions  permitting  these 
Christians  to  enjoy  human  rights  and  liberties.  The  tears  of 
the  Balkan  Slave  and  the  groaning  of  millions  of  Christians 
could  not  but  stir  our  hearts,  the  hearts  of  their  kinsmen  and 
co-religionists,  who  are  indebted  for  our  peaceful  life  to  a  great 
Christian  Liberator,  and  the  Bulgarian  nation  has  often  remem- 
bered the  prophetic  words  of  the  Czar  Liberator,  "  The  work 
is  begun,  it  must  be  carried  through."  Our  love  of  peace  is 
exhausted.  To  succour  the  Christian  population  in  Turkey 
there  remains  to  us  no  other  means  than  to  turn  to  arms. 
We  see  that  it  is  only  by  this  means  that  we  can  assure  them 
protection  of  life  and  property.  The  anarchy  in  the  Turkish 
provinces  has  even  menaced  our  national  life.  After  the 
massacres  of  Ishtib  and  Kochana,  instead  of  according  justice 
and  satisfaction  as  we  demanded,  the  Turkish  Government 
ordered  the  mobilisation  of  its  military  forces.  Our  long 
patience  was  thus  put  to  a  rude  test.  The  humanitarian  senti- 
ments of  Christians,  the  sacred  duty  of  succouring  their  brothers 
when  they  are  menaced  with  extermination,  and  the  honour 
and  dignity  of  Bulgaria,  imposed  on  me  the  imperative  duty 
of  calling  to  the  colours  Bulgaria's  sons  who  are  prepared  for 
the  defence  of  the  Fatherland.     Our  work  is  a  just,  great,  and 


334  CZAR  FERDINAND 

sacred  one.  ...  I  bring  to  the  cognisance  of  the  Bulgarian 
nation  that  war  for  the  human  rights  of  the  Christians  is 
declared.  I  order  the  brave  Bulgarian  army  to  march  on  the 
Turkish  territory  ;  at  our  sides,  and  with  us  will  fight,  for  the 
same  object  against  a  common  enemy,  the  armies  of  the  Balkan 
States  allied  to  Bulgaria — Servia,  Greece,  and  Montenegro. 
And  in  this  struggle  of  the  Cross  against  the  Crescent,  of  liberty 
against  tyranny,  we  shall  have  the  sympathy  of  all  those  who  love 
justice  and  progress.  .  .  .  Forward,  may  God  be  with  you.*  ^ 

When  on  the  morning  of  the  i8th  the  people  of 
Sofia  went  forth  from  their  homes  for  their  labours  of 
the  day,  they  found  their  King's  proclamation  already 
posted  up  in  all  the  public  places.  They  read  it,  not 
in  a  state  of  boisterous  excitement,  but  of  restrained 
elation.  Amidst  their  cheers,  that  rose  and  died 
away,  and  rose  again  all  over  the  city,  was  heard  the 
sound  of  the  cathedral  bells.  In  front  of  the  cathedral 
and  in  its  immediate  environs  at  least  fifteen  thousand 
people  were  congregated,  awaiting  the  return  of  their 
Czarina — the  first  Czarina  of  modern  Bulgaria — then 
attending  the  solemn  religious  service  within.  The 
moment  she  reappeared  a  shout  of  acclamation  burst 
forth  from  the  spectators,  with  cries  of  '  Long  live 
our  Queen ! '  '  Long  live  our  heroic  Czar ! '  Queen 
Eleanore,  in  the  four  years  since  her  marriage,  had 
by  a  thousand  deeds  of  truest,  unostentatious  charity 
to  the  poor  and  the  suffering  won  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  They  knew  their  Queen  was  about  to  leave 
them  on  her  errand  of  mercy  for  her  destination  by 

^  Translation  published  in  the  Times. 


CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  WAR    335 

the  Turkish  border,  where  her  husband  and  her  two 
sons  were  already  at  their  posts.  Except  for  the 
cheers  that  greeted  the  Queen  and  the  issue  of  the 
King's  appeal  to  his  people  there  was  no  sign  of 
excitement.  The  demeanour  of  those  great  crowds 
was  calm,  orderly,  dignified,  serious.  Not  a  soldier 
was  to  be  seen  among  them.  All  the  soldiers  of  the 
Sofia  garrison,  with  the  reservists  of  Sofia  and  its 
district,  from  all  classes  of  the  people — the  University 
professors,  for  example,  with  their  older  pupils,  and 
teachers  of  the  elementary  schools — were  already  far 
away  on  the  march,  singing  the  heroic  songs  of  their 
race,  knowing  that  their  hour  had  come  to  liberate 
their  enslaved  kindred.  A  little  nation,  the  very 
existence  of  which  was  unknown  to  educated  English- 
men less  than  sixty  years  before,  and  to  which  a 
frightful  massacre  in  the  later  seventies  had  for  the 
first  time  attracted  the  general  attention  of  Europe — 
this  little  nation  sallying  forth  to  shatter  one  of  the 
most  formidable  military  Powers  in  history  :  truly  a 
dramatic,  an  astonishing  spectacle.  And  all  this 
without  the  faintest  trace  of  the  vulgar  sensationalism 
familiar  to  certain  communities  on  either  shore  of  the 
Atlantic. 

In  his  address  to  his  people  Czar  Ferdinand 
described  the  war  as  just  and  sacred.  Not  only  was 
the  appellation  justified,  but  it  is  perhaps  the  only 
war  to  which  it  can  be  applied.  Some  English 
witnesses  of  this  war — men  of  high  distinction  in 
public  life,  whose  character  and  intelligence  give 


336  CZAR  FERDINAND 

great  weight  to  their  opinions — have  expressed  a 
doubt  whether  any  war  can  be  justified  which  brings 
with  it  such  horrors  as  those  of  Macedonia  and  Thrace. 
But  if  the  question  were  put  to  those  most  interested 
in  it — to  the  Bulgarian  nation,  the  only  member  of 
the  League  with  which  the  present  volume  is  con- 
cerned— the  answer  would  be  short,  unanimous,  and 
decisive.  The  Bulgarian  people  consider  the  libera- 
tion of  their  kindred  from  the  bloodstained  despotism 
of  the  barbarous  Turk  worth  all  their  self-sacrifice. 
They  have  deliberately  sacrificed  themselves  for  a 
moral  ideal.  And  they  have  achieved  their  great 
purpose.  The  end  of  an  epoch  in  the  story  of  the 
European  East,  the  beginning  of  a  happier  one,  was 
signalised  when  on  the  28th  of  March  191 3  King 
Ferdinand  in  Adrianople  received  Shukri  Pasha's 
sword,  and '  returned  it,'  as  the  telegraphic  despatches 
say,  *  with  a  few  complimentary  words.'  It  is  now 
well  known  that,  but  for  Czar  Ferdinand's  revulsion 
from  the  horrors  of  capture  by  assault,  Adrianople 
would  have  fallen  long  ago,  and  that  only  the  urgent 
entreaties  and  remonstrances  of  his  generals  induced 
him  to  yield.  He  came  at  last  frankly  to  recognise  the 
fact  that  any  further  delay  would  lead  to  miseries  even 
greater,  and  to  international  complications  of  a  serious 
character. 

Twenty-six  years  ago  Czar  Ferdinand  began  his 
eventful  reign — '  took  the  risks  ' — with  the  load  of  the 
Berlin  Treaty  round  his  neck,  and  with  a  faith,  that 
seemed  like  intuition,  in  the  capacities  (then  latent  for 


CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  WAR    337 

the  most  part)  of  the  Bulgarian  people,  and  in  his 
own  ability  to  lead  the  race  to  a  high  destiny.  He 
has  made  his  way  by  shaking  off  his  load,  one  part 
after  the  other,  and  patiently  waiting  for  the  Powers' 
*  ratification  *  of  his  illegality.  He  could  have  said, 
with  perfect  truth,  to  the  '  Young '  Turks  that  his 
plans  for  Macedonian  reform  by  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment itself  were  in  exact  accordance  with  the  pro- 
gramme they  themselves  proclaimed  when  they 
inaugurated  their  revolution,  and  that  if  they  had 
been  put  in  force  in  the  summer  of  191 2  war  would 
have  been  averted. 

In  the  story  of  Turko- Slavic  Europe  there  are  now 
two  *  Czar  Liberators ' :  Alexander  11.,  who  with  the 
help  of  the  Roumanians  liberated  Bulgaria  ;  and  Fer- 
dinand the  First,  who  with  the  help  of  the  Servians 
and  Greeks  has  liberated  Thrace  and  Macedonia.  It 
was  said  many  years  ago  that  the  Prince  of  Bulgaria 
cherished  the  ambition  of  being  remembered  in 
history  as  Ferdinand  *  Macedonicus.'  Czar  Ferdi- 
nand, at  that  little  ceremony  of  surrender  at  Adrian- 
ople  (following  the  capture  of  the  26th),  saw  his 
just  ambition  fulfilled.  But  is  it  quite  fulfilled.? 
some  critics  of  this  great  drama  are  asking.  Czar 
Ferdinand's  ambition,  it  is  said,  is  to  make  Con- 
stantinople the  capital  of  a  South  Slavic  Empire. 
Why  not?  Better  the  Slav  than  the  Turk.  The 
Turkish  possession  of  Constantinople  is  one  of  the 
darkest  blots  on  civilisation,  the  reductio  ad  ahsurdum 
of  Christian  diplomacy  in  the  European  East,  the 


338  CZAR  FERDINAND 

moral  condemnation  of  the  Christian  Powers,  inas- 
much as  it  is  the  symbol  of  their  mutually  jealous 
complicity  in  what  the  late  Professor  Freeman  stigma- 
tised as  *  the  rule  of  the  barbarian  over  the  civilised 
man.*  ^  So  long  as  the  Turk  retains  possession  of  a 
yard  of  European  soil  the  task  of  liberation  remains 
unfinished.  But  Czar  Ferdinand  is  not  the  man  to 
throw  away  the  substance  for  the  shadow.  He  is  in 
no  hurry  to  *  hoist  the  cross/  as  a  distinguished 
publicist  expresses  it,  on  the  dome  of  St.  Sophia. 
The  first  capital  of  the  Turks  in  Europe,  Adrianople, 
is  at  this  moment  the  object  of  his  vigilant  care.  The 
men  of  the  Bulgarian  transport  service  are  distributing 
bread  among  the  starving  citizens,  Moslem  and  Chris- 
tian, without  any  distinction.  Czar  Ferdinand  has 
inspected  every  quarter  of  the  historic  city .  Bulgarian 
administrators  began  the  organisation  of  its  future  gov- 
ernment the  very  day  after  the  surrender.  Turkish 
secretaries  and  assistants  of  all  sorts  serve  their  Bul- 
garian employers  in  the  public  offices  where  lately 
they  served  their  Turkish  masters  ;  nor  do  they  seem 
to  regret  the  change.  The  Turkish  populace,  that 
hid  itself  when  the  victors  swarmed  into  the  city,  has 
long  since  emerged  into  the  open  street,  astonished 
at  the  conqueror's  humanity,  unable  to  grasp  the 
fact  of  its  absolute  freedom  in  the  new  order.  We 
know  that  the  half  million  Turkish  citizens  of  Bul- 
garia were  in  nowise  shocked  by  the  Czar's  declara- 
tion of  war  against  their  Caliph,  that  their  deputies 

*  Freeman,  The  Ottoman  Power  in  Europe,  1877. 


CZAR  FERDINAND  AND  THE  WAR    339 

in  the  National  Legislature  voted  for  it.  A  like 
conversion  of  Turkish  sentiment  is  already  manifest- 
ing itself  in  the  conquered  territories.  In  a  short 
time  the  Turkish  voters  of  Adrianople,  of  Kirk 
Kilisse,  Lule  Burgas,  and  other  places  whose  names 
are  familiar  to  every  newspaper  reader,  will  be  sending 
their  delegates  to  the  National  Legislature  at  Sofia 
— ^which  Legislature  will  have  to  be' enlarged  com- 
mensurately  with  the  needs  of  Greater  Bulgaria,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  legal  procedure  for  the  revision 
of  the  Constitution,  at  a  *  Great  Assembly,'  sum- 
moned, as  of  old,  to  Tirnovo.  And  Czar  Ferdinand 
will,  as  often  before  in  the  course  of  his  extraordinary 
and  romantic  career,  be  the  central  figure  in  it — the 
*  Chief  Artificer  '  of  a  new  Slavic  Power,  whose 
mission  is  intellectual,  moral,  and  economic  progress 
through  peace.  But  the  mere  restoration  of  a 
Greater  Bulgaria  will  leave  unfulfilled  his  alleged 
ambition, — the  realisation  of  which  will  subject  his 
diplomatic  abilities  to  a  test  far  more  severe  than 
they  have  ever  undergone.  For  the  League,  which, 
it  was  hoped,  would  develop  into  a  permanent, 
pacific  Confederation,  shows  symptoms  of  a  revival 
of  the  race  hatreds  and  antagonisms  that  in  the  past 
made  the  Serbs  and  the  Bulgars  the  Turk's  easy 
prey. 

THE  END 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Alexandre  Hepp,  Ferdinand  de  Bulgarie^  Intime,  19  lo. 

Ivan  Vazoff,  Under  the  Toke^  1894. 

Chedomil  Mijatovitch,  The  Conquest  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks, 
1892. 

Freeman,  The  Ottoman  Power  in  Europe,  ^^77' 

BousQUET,  Histoire  du  Peuple  Bulgare,  19 10. 

Beaman,  Life  of  Stambouloff'y  1895. 

Sl  A  VEIKOFF,  Folk-Songs  of  the  Bulgars,  1 904. 

Strausz,  Bulgarische  Folksdichtungen,  1895. 

DozON,  r Epopee  Serbe,  1 888. 

Chansons  Populaires  Bulgares,  1875. 
Louis  Leger,  La  Bulgarie,  1885. 

Preface  to  Turcs  et  Grecs  contre  Bulgares  en  Macedoine,  1904. 
Brancoff,  La  Macedoine  et  sa  Population  Chretienne,  1905- 
ScHOPOFF,   Les    Reformes    et    la    Protection    des    Chretiens    en    Turquie, 
1 673- 1 904. 

The    Times'    Correspondents — July,     August,     1887;     September, 
October  1902;  October  1908;  October  191 2. 

Encyclopadia  Britannica,  1902,  article  on  *  Bulgaria.' 

De  Launay,  La  Bulgarie,  1907- 


841 


INDEX 


Abdul  Hamid,  Sultan,  StamboulofTs 
conciliatory  embassy  to,  1785  relations 
with  Czar  Ferdinand,  186  ;  Czar  Fer- 
dinand's visit  to,  224. 

Medjid,  Sultan,  petition  of  Bul- 
garians to,  2. 

Adrianople,  Czar  Ferdinand  at  surrender 
of,  336. 

Agriculture  in  Bulgaria,  309,  310. 

Alexander   11.,  the  Czar-Liberator,  122, 

3161  327,  337- 

Prince  of  Battenberg,  chosen  ruler 

of  Bulgaria,  74 ;  breach  of  Berlin 
Treaty  by,  79  ;  abdication  of,  81,  145  ; 
proposed  re-election  of,  85,  104,  105  j 
relations  with  Ferdinand,  iii,  112. 

Army,  inspection  by  Russian  officers, 
225,  313,  314  f/  seq.  ;  organisation  by 
Czar  Ferdinand,  313. 

Asparouch,  King,  11,  21. 

Austria,  occupation  of  Bosnia-Herzego- 
vina by,  144. 

Balkan  Alliance,  the,  4,  72, 330,  339. 

Basil  II.,  the  '  Bulgar-killer,'  35. 

Berlin  Treaty,  the,  73  ;  breach  of,  75  ; 
shelved  by  Czar  Ferdinand,  122,  126, 
138. 

Bernard  of  Saxe- Weimar,  Prince,  104. 

Black  Sea  ports,  the,  306. 

Bogomilism,  32,  34. 

Boris  I.,  21,  23,  24,  25,  26,  45. 

Prince,  rebaptism  of,  2 1 8  j  as  heir 

to  throne,  235. 

Bourgas,  port  of,  306,  307. 

Boyards,  the,  21,  25,  29,  37,  38,  45. 

Brigandage  in  Bulgaria,  176,  177. 

Bulgaria,  progress  of,  4,  230,  299  ; 
powerful  position  in  Middle  Ages,  5  ; 
early  wars  with  Greece,  6,  7  ;  land- 
locked position  of,  19  ;  fusion  of 
races  in,  12,  20;  early  history  of, 
21  et  seq.  ;  disruption  of  empire  in 
342 


Middle  Ages,  32,  34;  Greek  con- 
quests in,  35  et  seq. ;  invasion  by 
Basil  II.,  35;  Turkish  conquest  or, 
43,  44  ;  position  after  Berlin  Treaty, 
73,  122,  126,  138  ;  relations  with 
Russia  after  Berlin  Treaty,  73,  74  ; 
breach  of  Berlin  Treaty,  75  ;  with- 
drawal from  Russian  snzerainty,  79, 
80  ;  war  with  Servia,  80  j  social  pro- 
gress of,  230  ;  education  in,  299  ;  popu- 
lation of,  309  J  War  of  Liberation,  316, 
317  j   independence  proclaimed,  327. 

Bulgarian  literature,  277. 

patriots,  280,  284. 

Bulgars,  the,  rediscovery  of  nation,  i  ; 
racial  vitality  of,  ii,  47,  126,  127  ; 
cruelty  of,  12,  36,  40,  54,  56  ,•  national 
sentiment  nurtured  by  tchorbadjiis,  66. 

Chatalja  Line,  the,  7. 

Christianity,  introduction  to  Bulgaria,  24. 

Clement,   Bishop,    122,    135,    149,   159, 

168,   198;  head  of  Panslavic  mission 

to  St.  Petersburg,  217,  218. 
Clementine,  Princess,  83,  84,  85,  86,  93, 

loi,  102,  107,  113,  114,  151,  175. 
Constantinople  as  venerated  city,  7. 

Conference  of,  72. 

Country  palaces  of  Czar  Ferdinand,  259. 
Court  etiquette,  Bulgarian,  288. 
Cyril,  Prince,  235,  236,  308. 

Daneff,  Dr.,  222,  228,  325. 
Dushan,  Czar  Stephan,  of  Servia,  42. 

Education  in  Bulgaria,  300. 
Eleanore,  the  Czarina,  236,  332,  334. 
European  views  of  Ferdinand's  election, 

140. 
Euxinograd,  chateau  of,  264. 

Ferdinand,  Czar,  Lefevre  quoted  on,  3  ; 
conciliatory  policy  of,  4,  160,  174, 185, 


INDEX 


343 


195,  198,203,213  ;  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence from  Turkey,  6  j  ambitions 
of,  19, 339  J  throne  ofBulgaria offered  to, 
83  ;  character  and  education  of,  89  ;  as 
Czar,  98  ^/  seq.  ;  election  as  Czar  ap- 
proved by  Powers  except  Russia,  103  ; 
reply  to  delegates,  108  ;  delayed  coro- 
nation, 108,  109  et  seq.  ;  interview 
with  Times  correspondent,  109,  no; 
landing  in  Bulgaria ;  Catholic  faith 
upheld  by,  118,  166,  187;  relations 
with  Stambouloff,  119, 153,  171  j  wel- 
come by  Bulgarians,  1 2 1  ;  Berlin  Treaty 
ignored  by,  122,  126,  127;  oath  taken 
at  Timovo,  124;  triumphal  entry  to 
Sofia,  133  ;  European  views  of  his 
election,  140  et  seq.  ;  his  first  Cabinet, 
1565  conciliatory  policy  of,  160,  174, 
185,  195,  198,  203  ;  plotting  against, 
160  ;  studies  and  journeys  in  Bulgaria, 
172  ;  marriage,  178,  185  ;  Stam- 
boulofTs  attacks  upon,  193,  199  ; 
breach  with  Stambouloff,  182,  190; 
opening  of  new  Legislative  Chamber  by, 
201  ;  quoted,  on  Stambouloff,  208-10  ; 
conciliatory  policy  towards  Turkey, 
213;  Petkoff  quoted  on  character 
of,  21 6;  conciliatory  attitude  towards 
Russia,  217-19  ;  encouragement  of 
Panslavic  mission  to  St.  Petersburg, 
217,  218  ;  rebaptism  of  Prince  Boris, 
218  ;  visit  to  Sultan  Abdul  Hamid, 
224  J  Powers'  acknowledgment  of, 
224,  227,  228 ;  financial  and  com- 
mercial policy  of,  227  ;  scheme  for 
confederation,  228,  253  j  popularity 
of,  230  ;  children  of,  235  ;  second 
marriage,  236  ;  quoted,  on  Orient  Ex- 
press enterprise,  239  ;  country  palaces 
of,  259  ;  encouragement  of  art,  262, 
302,  311  ;  visits  to  Mount  Rilo,  266  ; 
court  life  of,  299  ;  etiquette  and  cere- 
mony enforced  by,  288  ;  French  sym- 
pathies of,  297  j  influence  on  national 
progress,  299  ;  educational  reforms  of, 
300 ;  archaeological  and  zoological  in- 
terests of,  302  ;  business  activity  of,  304  ; 
travels,  306  ;  agrarian  policy  of,  309  ; 
artistic  tastes  of,  3 1 1  ;  organisation  of 
army  by,  313  ;  reconciliation  with 
Russia,  316  ;  proclamation  of  Czar- 
dom,  320,  327;  position  in  relation  to 
Turkey  during  Macedonian  massacres, 
32 3I;  Servian  alliance  broached,  325  ; 


proclamation  of  war  against  Turkey, 
330»  333  j  at  siege  of  Adrianople,  336, 
337>  338  ;   future  tasks  of,  337  et  seq. 

Folk-songs,  Bulgarian,  49, 277,  278,  279. 

Forest  laws,  Bulgarian,  311. 

General  Election  of  1887,  157. 
Gipsies,  Bulgarian,  256. 
Greece,  early  wars  with  Bulgaria,  6,  7,  35. 
Greek  Church,   the,  attempt  to   destroy 

Bulgar  nationality,  69  et  seq. 

culture,  influence  on  Bulgaria,  25. 

Greeks  in  Bulgaria,  the,  i,  4. 

hostility  between,  and  Bulgars,  13, 

28,  50,  71,  282. 
Grenaud,  Count  de,  292,  293. 

Ignatieff,  Count,  315,  317. 

Ivan  A^en  i.,  38. 

Ivan  A9en  11.,  39,  40,  42. 

Janissaries,  military  system  of,  46. 
John  A5en,  Czar,  8. 
Joseph,  the  Exarch,  164. 

Kaulbars,  212. 
Krum,  Czar,  23,  243. 

Levskv,  Alexander,  284. 
Literature,  Bulgarian,  277. 

Macedonia,  people  of,  18,  71. 

rising  of,  322. 

Marie  Louise,  Princess,   185,   186,  221, 

231,  232,  257,  265;   visits  to  Mount 

Rilo,   268  j    establishment  of  training 

schools  for  girls  by,  312. 
Marko,  Prince,  59,  60,  61. 
Miladinov,  the  brothers,  279,  280. 
Milan,  King  of  Servia,  150,  175,  318. 
Mohammedanism,    imposed    by    Turk5 

upon  Bulgarians,  45. 
Montagu,  Lady  Mary  Wortley,  quoted, 

243. 
Mount  Rilo,  monastery  of,  33,  66,  266. 

Navy,  the  Bulgarian,  308. 
Newspapers,  establishment  of,  5. 
Nicolaieff,  General,  104. 
Nicolas  II.,   reconciliation    with   Ferdi- 
nand, 218. 

Orient  Express,  fete  at  Sofia  in  honour 
of,  239. 


344 

Osman,  Ghazi,  5. 


CZAR  FERDINAND 


Paissy,  Monk,  284. 

Panitza  plot,  the,  166. 

Pctkoff,  M.,  1 90,  206  ;  quoted,  on  Czar 

Ferdinand,  216. 
PctrofF,  Major,  190,  192,  194. 
Phanar,  the,  282,  283. 
Philippopolis,  15,  17,  130,  253. 
Plots  against  Czar  Ferdinand,  160. 
PopofF,  Major,  iii,  112,  113. 
Proclamation  of  Czardom,  321. 

Rayah,  the,  2,  67. 

Rilo,  Monastery  of,  173  ;  Ferdinand's  pil- 
grimages to,  266. 
Rilsky,  the  Neophyte,  284,  286. 
Rodosto,  7. 
Roumelia,  Eastern,  union  with  Bulgaria, 

16,  73,  76.  77.  79- 

Russia,  position  with  regard  to  Bulgaria, 
73»  74,  77,  ^805  Bulgaria's  with- 
drawal from  suzerainty  of,  79,  80 ; 
attitude  towards  Prince  Ferdinand's 
election  as  Czar,  103,  113,  145,  174, 
180;  Ferdinand's  conciliatory  policy 
towards,  197,  198,  217-195  recon- 
ciliation with  Ferdinand,  3 1 6. 

Russian  review  of  Bulgarian  army,  225, 
314. 

Samuel,  Czar,  war  against  Basil,  35. 
SavofF,  Major,  afterwards  General,  191, 

320,  324. 
Schishman,  Czar,  30,  275. 
SchishmanofF,  Dr.  Ivan,  278. 
« Schope  '  countrymen,  257. 
Servia,  geographical  position  of,  19  ;  rise 

during  the   Middle   Ages,  42  ;    war 

with  Bulgaria,  80  ;  broached  alliance 

with  Bulgaria,  229,  325. 
Servians,  the,  Slavonic  element  in,  13,  14. 
Shipka  Pass  celebrations,  226,  314. 
Simeon,  Czar,  6,  8,  27,  28. 
Slaveikoff,  50,  5 1 . 
Slavs,  fusion  with  Bulgarian  race,  12,  14, 

20,  21. 


Sofia,  under  the  Turks,  241  et  seq.  ; 
development  of,  241  ;  modem,  250  j 
Ferdinand's  restoration  of,  252,  254  j 
Ferdinand's  palace  at,  291. 

StamboulofF,  Stephan,  14,  29,  71,  79,  81, 
82,  87,  88,  91,  14s,  146,  165  ;  negotia- 
tions for  election  of  Ferdinand,  103  j 
relations  with  Ferdinand,  119,  153, 
159,  160,  171  ;  as  Premier,  153,  154, 
156,  158;  tactics  against  the  Church 
conspirators,  166  ;  Panitza  plot  sup- 
pressed by,  169  ;  defiant  policy  against 
Russia,  166,  174,  180,  205  ;  reform 
mcasiu'es  of,  176;  diplomatic  visit  to 
Sultan,  178;  despotic  nature  of,  171, 
189  ;  breach  with  Czar  Ferdinand, 
182,  193  ;  revision  of  article  of  suc- 
cession by,  187,  188  ;  growing  un- 
popularity of,  188  ;  attacks  on  Prince 
Ferdinand,  193  ;  end  of  his  ministry, 
194  ,-  riots  against  and  police  guardian- 
ship of,  196,  197  J  trial  for  libel,  1995 
death  of,  206  j  Ferdinand  quoted  on, 
2o8-io. 

StanciofF,  M.  Dimitri,  1 1 8. 

StoilofF,  M.,  84,  88,  89,  90,  106,  125, 
152,  156,  194,  205,228,  325. 

Stoyan,  Pope,  270. 

TcHORBADji,  the,  66. 

Thrace,  Turkish  persecutions  of  Christian 
Bulgars  in,  321. 

Turkey,  relations  with  Bulgaria,  13,  137, 
140,  174;  reconciliation  with  Bulgaria, 
178;  persecutions  of  Bulgarians  in 
Macedonia,  321  et  seq.  j  war  with  Bul- 
garia, 330,  332. 

Turks  in  Bulgaria,  the,  4,  12,  14,  43,  44, 
70,  71,  248. 

Varna,  port  of,  306,  307,  308. 
Vinaroff,  Major,  iii,  112,  113. 
Vrana,  Ferdinand's  estate  of,  259. 

'  Young  Turks,'  policy  in  Macedonia, 

insult  to  Bulgaria,  326.  ' 


Printed  by  T.  and  A,  Constable,  Printers  to  His  Majesty  "jf 
at  the  Edinburgh  University  Press 


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